A Day of Reckoning
by Meralin
Summary: Whenever disaster befalls Jump City, the Teen Titans are always willing to respond, no matter the danger. This time, however, something unimaginable happens, leading Robin to make the ultimate decision. *Chapters 7-9 edited and updated*
1. Beginnings

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any characters or settings; all belong to their respective creators and DC. This story is only for entertainment; under no circumstances is this story to be used for profit.

_This story is rated "T" for violence and language._

**Author Notes:** Before you start reading the first chapter, "Beginnings" below, I'd like to just say a few words in regards to the story; this is, essentially, a 'one-shot', originally typed out as one very long chapter, but split up to balance out the reading experience.

This story used to be posted under the title "Mortality", but due to heavy editing, and, to be honest, lack of hits, I've taken down the previous story and present a much more balanced tale. The story is complete, but I will only be releasing two chapters a day; this will, hopefully, generate more attention to the story, and perhaps provoke more reviews.

This story is based on the Teen Titans cartoon primarily; however, I also combine hints of the comic book and the cartoon The Justice League. As the two cartoons do not coexist within the same 'universe', I've left many things ambiguous, straying away from pinpointing certain events, besides a few; the story takes place after both cartoon series have ended, giving me plenty of creative room, and the Teen Titans move, Trouble in Tokyo, never occurred.

The primary reason I ignore the movie is due to the various relationships that are presented and feasible within the cartoon; as a fan of canon relationships, I accept and approve of the romantic bond between Robin and Starfire. However, the two characters presented in the cartoon of Teen Titans don't fully capture the passion and compatibility as their comic book counterparts. As much as I initially avoided the shipping of Robin and Raven, I was eventually drawn in, and, to my annoyance, did find that the two characters shared much in common and connected extraordinarily well, giving a potential of romance between the two plausible. Thus any romance relationships presented within the story are mostly ambiguous; the reader may draw their own conclusions.

This is a story about Robin, an idea that lodged itself within my head and refused to leave until I blurted it out; while I do try to make logic of what happens within the story, the 'why' or 'how's of certain plot points should be taken as is, letting the mysterious happenstances of a heroic universe take it's course. I do hope you enjoy the journey, and if you do, please review.

*Note* I have done some major rewrites to a few of the chapters, a few times now, in particular with the time of certain plot points; they may be needed for a possible sequel that, given that I have the time, I hope to finish. Enjoy.

* * *

**Beginnings**

In hindsight, they really should have expected it.

After all, it was the perfect day; or, at least, it started as the perfect day. Being spring, and a Saturday, the day already had two things going for it; combined with the perfect blend of warm air and a cool breeze and a picturesque cover of clouds hanging like cotton in the sky, everyone looked forward to the day. It was a day for being outdoors with family and friends, for picnics and barbeque, for lounging in the sun; none could resist the alluring call of nature, the warm rays drawing out even the most reclusive of people, tempting them to abandon their solitary dwellings for the bright sun.

It was a day for revelry and feasting, for relaxation and fun; it was a perfect day in Jump City, and the resident crime fighting team, the city's beloved protectors, the Teen Titans, were making the best of this once in a lifetime day, enjoying a late lunch, sitting at their favorite table, at their favorite pizzeria. Spread out before them were the remains of their meal, two large platters that had once, not too long ago, contained warm, delicious pizza pies.

There were a few signs that the day was too perfect, the most obvious being the lack of an argument between Beast Boy and Cyborg about toppings for the now consumed pizzas. The two fought over every meal, Cyborg insisting bacon went with everything and Beast Boy attempting, unsuccessfully, to point out the finer qualities of tofu. Yet when the waitress approached their table, asking what toppings they wanted, both, without even looking at the other, stated, simply, cheese. This seemingly innocent act, combined with a crime free month, something that was unheard of, should have been enough to warn them.

But no, they were all blissfully unaware, happy just to be alive and in the company of close friends; a few years had passed since the defeat of the Brotherhood of Evil, and, overall, they had been good years for the young heroes. The team was even more close-knit then ever, the years of training honing all of their even then impressive skills; some had changed more then others, physically mostly, but emotionally and mentally, too.

Least affected by time was Cyborg, his cheerful and responsible attitude unchanged, along with his abnormal hunger and obsession with his mechanical creations. Starfire, her figure fuller and more feminine, was still full of emotion and optimism, although most of her naivety was gone, the beautiful alien grasping most of the human customs she was unfamiliar with when she first arrived to the blue planet. The team's empath, Raven, her eighteenth birthday having passed a few months ago, had also grown taller, becoming the adult she never expected to be; aside from growing out her hair, little else, physically, changed for the young goth. However, her friends and fellow super hero comrades did notice an emotional change in the young woman; while she would never be as expressive as her friend Starfire, Raven had become softer, friendlier, more open to her friends. Laughter was still rare, but she smiled more, the light in her violet eyes brighter than when she had first met the team.

If asked who had changed the most over the years, the Titans would eye both Beast Boy and Robin critically, unsure of their answer; the green changeling, still the youngest of the group, was no longer a scrawny kid; the team's meticulous training regiment, drafted and controlled by Robin, of course, added a noticeable mass to the clownish vegetarian, and a long overdue growth spurt changed his once diminutive height. While he was still fond of cracking jokes, most hilarious only to himself, the lessons learned and responsibilities gained from the defeat of the Brotherhood had matured the green man; while he had leadership capabilities, Beast Boy was still weary of taking on that mantel, preferring to be led then to lead.

Like Beast Boy, Robin's body had been forged under the stress of training, his thin and lanky frame built up, the young man faster and stronger than he was when the Teen Titans first formed. His leadership skills were still strong, the driving force behind the group, the bond that kept them all together; still, there were some changes that were noticeable. He no longer obsessed about missions or foes anymore; life lessons, and some personal growth, had settled some of his lingering demons, and the infatuation with Slade, among other things, had dissolved. The young hero's attitude less grim, Robin had distanced himself from his mentor's persona. The young leader's arrogance had also faded, replaced by confidence, the young man finally able to tell the difference between the two, in not only himself, but also in his team.

And it all came down to the team; with all else in the world on uncertain grounds, the Teen Titans had remained stable and strong. So it was on the perfect day that this perfect team, according to Beast Boy, who was, to be honest, biased, relaxed in the sun, a serious but not so serious conversation drifting among them; with all things in harmony, Beast Boy, already contemplating a change to his own heroic name, brought up, yet again, a point of conversation that he had argued for the past few months. Wiping his mouth on a napkin, causing some eyebrows arching in surprise at the unusual display of, well, manners, he lightly tapped the table with his fist, declaring yet again, "I still say we should change the name to… Team Titans! …or Titans Team!"

Cyborg sighed, resting his hand on his forehead, not really wanting to argue this point on such a pleasant day, "Man, why bring this up again, BB? We've already rejected 'Green Team' and 'The Beasts'; besides, why bother changing the name?" He paused, tapping his lip thoughtfully, muttering, "…Well, at least those ones don't include your name or likeness somehow, so I guess that's an improvement…"

"While I am delighted with your sharing of ideas, friend Beast Boy," Starfire piped up, unconsciously hovering about an inch off of her seat, "I will also ask once again: why the sudden need to change our name? I am very fond of who we are!"

"Duh, we're not really 'teens' anymore, Starfire!" Beast Boy exclaimed, gesturing to his friends around him, "I mean, technically a few of us are still teens, but, I mean, we're not kids anymore! Raven and Robin are now, legally, adults, Cy's gotta be, what, thirty by now?"

"Yo! Not funny, bro!" objected Cyborg, throwing a used napkin at the grinning changeling.

Beast Boy didn't bother to dodge the trash, the soiled paper bouncing off his forehead, and continued as if never interrupted, "…And Star… well, I don't know how old you are, but you no longer look like a teen."

The alien gave Beast Boy an irritated look, her cheeks puffing out as she huffed, "You should know very well that we will be celebrating my 83rd v'klabdar in two Earth months time!"

There was a few moments of silence as Beast Boy stared at her, before he finally blurted, "Dude, I don't even know what that means!"

Robin, having already been through this particular conversation with his younger friend many times before, cut off the two heroes, speaking quietly, "Beast Boy, how many times do I have to explain this to you? A v'klabda is the Tamaranean life-day, what we'd consider a birthday; and you also already know that Tamaran has a much shorter year then Earth does. Don't be obtuse; you know Starfire's age is equivalent to ours." The young leader suddenly grinned mischievously, ignoring Beast Boy questioning of what 'obtuse' meant, "And you should also know better then to ask a woman her age."

Beast Boy's cheeks darkened as he mumbled an apology to Star, who graciously accepted, casually stating that she expected more presents for her celebration. As the green teen whined and tried to wheedle his way out of the extra gifts, Raven spoke, effectively shutting Beast Boy up, "As much as it pains me to say it, I think Beast Boy is right with this."

This caused a small stir; Cyborg, who was sipping on his soda, choked, spitting out the carbonated beverage as he stared at Raven in amazement. Beast Boy, too, was speechless, his jaw open and eyes wide. Starfire looked only curious, and Robin casually arched an eyebrow; embarrassed by the sudden focus of attention, Raven muttered, "What? Is it so strange for me to agree with Beast Boy?"

The changeling stuttered, "I… Ah… Um… Yea! You, like, never agree with anything I say, Raven!"

The empath was silent for a moment, suddenly unwilling to share her thoughts; however, a light touch on the arm and a supportive grin from Robin prompted her to continue to speak, "Regardless of the magnitude of my simple statement, we really should think of dropping the 'teen' from our title; we're growing, and our image needs to grow with us. Beast Boy is right: we're not kids anymore. We need to show everyone, villains and the superhero community alike, that we need to be taken seriously; our team's name has to change."

Beast Boy gaped at Raven for a moment, amazement clearly written on his face, before giving out a loud whoop, turning to the startled Cyborg, exclaiming, "See! See! Even Raven agrees with me! You know we gotta take this seriously now, right? This may be the only time that I have her on my side! Quick, before she changes her mind, let's go with… um… The Fantastic Five!"

Raven sighed, cradling her face in her hands, shaking her head slightly; leave it to Beast Boy to over dramatize things. Still, she grinned as she heard her friends jovially bicker amongst themselves, Beast Boy throwing out stranger and stranger names for the group, with Cyborg shooting down everything the youngest suggested, the tin man turning to Starfire for support. The only sound coming from their esteemed leader was a low chuckling, such a warm and uplifting noise that it caused Raven to uncover her face, and show her rare and beautiful smile to her friends, enjoying the time that they had together.

And then all happy feelings were suddenly gone, the perfect day turning to hell on earth.

No one noticed it, not even the ever observant Robin; no one could notice it, as it happened so fast. Beast Boy was even mid laugh when the sky suddenly burst into flame, a large fireball tearing through the earth's atmosphere at a blinding speed, shattering the sound barrier, barreling overhead of the peaceful city. All within a few heartbeats did the burning object crash into the eastern part of Jump City, all glass shattered by the massive shockwave in its wake, the shards raining down upon the citizens, causing damage and chaos, a terrible, gigantic explosion rocking the city as the meteorite collided with the earth. The Titans would come to quickly find out that the comet had crashed over three miles from where they sat, yet they could all feel a noticeable increase of temperature from the heat of the collision from where they were.

The sound was deafening and the light was blinding; for those without protection, it would take many precious minutes for both of their senses to return. The Teen Titans, however, even with the unexpected calamity, were better prepared then one would expect; none had full protection from the ear-shattering noise, and some would suffer more then others, but all had rather effective defenses against the flash, some lucky enough to be facing away from the blinding light, and some having techniques or technologies to dampen the brightness. Thus, even with all this chaos rolling around him, Robin noticed something the others did not.

Raven was screaming.

It wasn't in terror like others, hero or civilian; fear did not grip the young empath, but it was something else, an early warning sign that Robin could not decipher, the first inclination of what would befall the day. All Robin could understand and see was that Raven was clutching her head as in pain, the small chakra embedded into her forehead burning with a dark glow. Robin was no expert on mysticism, but he could tell that whatever Raven was feeling, or seeing, could not be a good thing.

If the empath could hear her leader's thoughts, she would wholeheartedly agree with him; but she knew not what Robin was thinking, and could only feel the faint hint of concern through their mental link. Normally she could feel more, but in this instance she was not concentrating on the bond she had forged with Robin; no, she was too busy fighting for her consciousness, for the meteorite that had sped overhead was far from normal. It had lasted only a moment, less, but the pain that wracked Raven's head had lingered for much longer then it should have; for that one agonizing instant, the empath had felt an overwhelming, terrifyingly devastating feeling of such hate and rage that she had never felt before, nor would she ever want to feel again.

Raven had no time to process what had happened to her, however; for, as suddenly as the fireball appeared, the impact was over, and after the few, terrifying moments of noise, a brief, horrifying second of silence hung over the air; then the aftermath came. Chaos erupted across the city, and the Teen Titans were needed; but even the most experienced hero would be staggered by this cataclysmic event, and the young heroes were no exception. For long moments they could only clutch the table or chairs for support, unable to act, trying valiantly to throw off the stunning effect of seeing part of their city destroyed. Still young, and brash, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire tried to act before they had fully recovered, all speaking at once, their legs weak and heads dizzy. Raven had no thoughts of standing any time soon, the empath concentrating on subduing her emotions and forcing her mind into a blank state; Robin was more cautious then the rest, remaining seated, his left hand clutching the side of his head, the young man feeling a sudden pain ripping through his skull.

Shrugging away the pain, and ignoring the fuzzy whooshing sound that was ringing through his head, Robin's quick mind was already turning, thinking of what must be done; fist and foremost was calming his team. Drawing a great breath of air, the young leader bellowed, "All of you sit down and shut up!"

The effect was immediate; with surprised looks, even from Raven, whose eyes were still clouded with pain, the three heroes who had stood sat down without hesitation. A wave of vertigo rushed through Robin's head, the young man still not fully recovered from the debilitating effects, and he clutched his head harder, his fingers digging into his scalp; Cyborg was saying something, but for the life of him, Robin couldn't make it out. Whetting his lips, Robin asked, "What?" again Cyborg's lips moved, his voice sounding garbled to the dizzy man, so Robin asked again, louder, "What?"

Cyborg's mouth thinned with worry, repeating his question and almost bellowing, "I said 'What's the plan!'; and why you screaming, man? We're right here!"

The words confused Robin, the young man frowning in response, muttering to himself, "Was I?" he knew he had raised his voice for his rallying order, but it was that loud? He shook his head to clear the fog that was clouding his mind, opening his mouth to speak when he noticed that everyone was looking at him in shock; worried now, he asked, "What?"

Raven, seated to the left of Robin, grasped his forearm, pulling his hand away from his head, telling him in a raised voice, her violet eyes lined with concern, "Robin, you're bleeding."

The boy didn't respond, staring at his blood-soaked hand; the empath was right, Robin was bleeding from the ear. It was from the shockwave the meteorite caused, and Robin should have recognized the wound from the start; the vertigo, pain, and ringing sound that lingered for him, all pointed to a damaged ear. He saw Raven start to reach out to him, her hands lined with a dark glow, no doubt intent on using her healing abilities to help the young man, but Robin drew back, forcing his voice to a normal level, knowing that this whole time he had been yelling at them, "Don't, Raven, save your strength; I need you at top condition." He gave a slight grin, turning his gaze to his doubtful friends, "Besides, I'm fine, it's only a light wound." To prove his point, he removed a super-absorbent cloth from his utility belt and mopped up the blood that covered the side of his face, subtly placing a medical plug into his ear.

Technically, it wasn't a good idea to plug up the ear, and Robin knew that he should let the bleeding stop on its own so the canal didn't block up, but the young leader needed his team's attention deflected from him to the task at hand; Robin's bluff worked, and the Titans nodded, accepting their leader's words, although their faces were still lined with worry. Making sure his face was controlled, Robin began to speak again, "Here's the plan: Beast Boy, take flight and start to scout the disaster area. Pay attention to any pockets of survivors or sections of immediate collapse; once you have a good idea what's going on, report to Cyborg, who will be gathering any and all emergency personnel Jump has to offer. The JPD and JFD will be able to handle most of the grunt work, so I need the two of you to start getting into hot zones, doing search and rescue as well a preventing further damage to the city. Understood?

The two nodded, their faces grim and determined; Robin returned the nod, continuing, "Good; while you two rally the emergency response teams, Starfire, Raven, and I will examine the impact site, to make sure that the meteorite, or whatever it is, isn't dangerous or radioactive. Once we've secured the area, we'll rendezvous with you." Robin paused, his mind busy planning, before he finished his orders, "I'll use our communicators to coordinate the rescue with the police chief and fire marshal, and Raven and Starfire will join you two in the hot zones."

"You won't be joining us in these warm zones?" Starfire asked, her large, green eyes clearly showing her concern and confusion with Robin's statement.

The young leader shook his head, "No, someone has to represent us and coordinate all rescue efforts; my skills are the least relevant to this kind of operation, so I'm the obvious choice to remain at 'HQ', so to speak." There was a slight frown on his face as he spoke, but gave no one time to read deeply into it, as he asked, "Any more questions?"

Yes, some still had questions, but no one voiced it, so Robin stood, able to control his vertigo so no one noticed, giving a small grin, "Titans, go."

Beast Boy grinned, turning to his cybernetic friend, telling him, "I'll give you a ride to the PD before I head out." As Cyborg nodded in agreement, the changeling morphed into a Pterodactyl, flapping his great wings and becoming airborne, grasping onto Cyborg's shoulders before carting the metal man away.


	2. Contact

**Contact**

As Beast Boy and Cyborg left, the green changeling swaying slightly as he flew due to the weight of Cyborg, the three grounded Teen Titans, took flight as well, Robin grasping onto Starfire's forearms as she bore them both into the air, Raven right beside the two, the empath using her magical powers to levitate her body. Flying steadily, not too quickly or slowly, they followed the path that the fallen object had taken, approaching the impact site. Even though they did not fly high, sticking low to the ground, not wanting to be exposed in the sky, all got a good idea of the devastation that befell Jump City. At the fringes of the crater, buildings were in ruins, burning from the intense heat; these pitiful shells of buildings got even more degraded as they approached the epicenter. Robin, wanting to continue on foot, motioned to his friends to land, the trio touching down a few hundred yards away from ground zero; as Robin's gaze took in the scorched earth, he realized something did not add up.

Unlike his overlooked wound, he was able to deduce the oddity within moments; the size of this crater didn't match preconceived and observed impact sites where there was so much destruction. He was too far away from the center, so he couldn't get a good look at the actual object that crash landed on Earth; if he could get some data on the meteorite, perhaps he could make sense of all of this. Looking to both his companions, a pained expression on their faces, both thinking about the massive loss of life, as they were standing in what used to be a residential area, Robin cleared his throat, getting their attention. While the young leader felt sorrow for the deaths, he had to shove it aside; there would be time to mourn later. Speaking softly, as there was little to no sound where they stood, he told them, "Let's get a little closer, but be cautious," Robin pulled out a small machine from his belt, flipping it on and glancing at the screen, "There's little radiation here, but it could get more potent as we move closer."

The two nodded, and followed Robin as he slowly inched forward, holding his small detector out in front of him, glancing from the tiny screen to the distant object that lay smoldering in the crater's center. As expected from any celestial object entering the atmosphere, the radiation did increase slightly as they got closer, but it was much less then Robin expected; yet another thing that didn't feel right about the whole thing. Once the group had gotten close enough to observe the object, Robin knew his theory was right; the blackened object was the size of a car. If there was no object, or the object was very small, it would at least explain the crater, but a space rock of this size should have created an impact site ten times the size as the one they stood in; this raised a worrying question: if no meteorite had crashed, what had?

Robin, his head pounding and aching, called for a halt, needing time to think; his two companions only nodded at his command, their gazes still wandering to the devastation around them. There was no doubt that any poor souls that lived here were dead, instantaneously incinerated by the impact; it was little consolation that the people of this neighborhood had died quickly, however. Both felt the loss of life, the empath feeling, almost seeing, the death that hung over the land like a foul cloud, where Starfire felt a void of life, something that frightened the young woman; not wanting to remain where they were, and seeing no threat, the alien princess spoke, and even though her voice was hushed, it still sounded loud in the lifeless land, "May we go now, Robin? I do not like it here. It feels… wrong." Starfire hugged herself, a slight shiver running down her spine.

With his hearing still distorted, and his mind distracted, it took a few moments before Robin responded, "Not yet, Starfire, I need to get a better look at the space rock; something doesn't add up." He paused, turning his gaze to the worried woman, "Still… I think you're right; something does feel wrong." Although Robin had no sort of extrasensory abilities, even he could feel that something was abnormal, wrong, almost volatile, about the area, the meteorite. Noticing that his words did little to calm the distressed alien, Robin took a step closer to Starfire, gently resting a hand on her shoulder, giving her a calming smile to sooth her frayed nerves.

Starfire appreciated the gesture, but needed something else to alleviate her concern; stepping closer to her friend, she pulled his arm around her for a proper hug, burying her head into his shoulder. To an outsider this scene would probably seem odd, but it was less unusual then one would expect; Starfire hugged everyone, even the reserved Raven, who had come to accept, even appreciate, the sudden physical contact over the years. The alien princess thrived on joy, care, and love, and Starfire wholeheartedly loved all of her friends; even something as simple as a hug would restore her confidence and calm her nerves. Still, out of all her dear friends, Starfire always felt her heart beat a little faster when she felt Robin's arms around her.

Robin didn't shy away from the contact, although this wasn't the best place or time for a comforting embrace; the young hero knew that this was Starfire's coping mechanism though, so he indulged the woman, tying to ignore the faint cooing sounds Starfire was making. Only a few moments passed before Robin withdrew, Starfire's emotions calmed, turning to his other companion with a question about the area, but the words died on his lips; Raven, not making a sound since they landed, was staring at the smoldering space rock, her eyes wide with fear, sweat trickling down her face, looking like she was in a trance. Instinctively knowing something was wrong, Robin sprinted to the immobile empath, Starfire a hair behind him, calling, "Raven? Raven!"

The young woman didn't respond to Robin's call, not hearing him, for, the moment she had laid eyes upon the foreign object, she had been incapacitated by a staggering amount of violence, hatred, and pain emanating from the blackened rock. Her body, acting upon survival instinct, had diverted all energy to her mental barriers, valiantly attempting to protect the empath's assaulted will; never before had Raven encountered such overwhelming emotional force, not even from her father. She had been woefully unprepared to face such a powerful, primal, mental force, and she was just holding onto her consciousness, her sanity, by a thread. Her mind was overwhelmed with foreign images, all dark, violent, and chaotic, and Raven unable to calm or even navigate through this mental storm.

Robin and Starfire, acting impulsively, concerned for their friend, grasped her, Starfire going as far to embrace her, providing a link between friends, giving Raven a speck of light within her mind, guiding her out of her storm. Finally able to feel her friends, and find her body, Raven was able to break her mental paralysis; gasping loudly, her legs failing, Raven was caught by her two friends, who supported her as she regained her balance and composure. The first thing she saw as Robin's face, who was staring at her with concern, his masked eyes arched with worry, asking, "Are you alright? What happened?"

Raving, having to wet her lips before answering, her eyes still unfocused, muttered in reply, "Yes… yes, I'm okay; tired… 'm tired… need to regain strength…"

For the next few moments all Raven did was cling to her two friends, trusting them to give her the support she needed, as she rebuilt her fragile mystical powers; Robin and Starfire said nothing, glancing at one another, both worried and frightened of how battered Raven was. Raven, normally prideful, didn't care that the two saw her at her weakest; she was too busy tying to piece together the chaotic pictures she had gathered from her mental battle. She didn't know much, but what she did know, the foul emotions she felt, were enough to inadvertently agree with Starfire's request; Raven did not want to be here.

Forcing away her fatigue, she grasped onto Robin, pulling him closer to her, her amethyst eyes urgent with fear, whispering harshly, "We have to get out of here!"

There was no time for Robin to reply; as soon as the words left the empath's lips, a violent crashing sound came from the crater's center, the space object shuddering suddenly. There was a screeching sound of torn metal and earth, and with a sudden jolt, half of the meteorite sailed through the air, as if burst from its other half; thankfully for the three heroes, the projectile didn't even approach their general area, landing far to their side. Robin, his eyes drawn to the thrown space rock, mentally corrected himself as he watched the object crash; it was no rock, but some sort of capsule. The three saw flashes of sparks and heard vents hiss from the destroyed vessel, an obvious indication that this object was created by some sort of intelligent creature; and there is only one purpose of a container. Things were slowly falling into place for the young detective, but even with all of his countless theories of what was contained in this object, he was still staggeringly shocked by what emerged.

Out of its cell it arose, a massive, jagged creature shrugging off its tight confines; the monster had to be over seven feet tall, closer to eight, and its girth was near equal to its height. Grey skin was stretched taunt over massive sinew and muscle, the creature's arms grotesquely large, with legs the size of tree trunks; ripping out of the monster's skin like cruel stalagmites were sharp, crystalline, barbed growths, creating a hard, rough carapace around its back, shoulders, forearms, fists, pelvis, and shins. The mere sight of this creature was intimidating, but the truly horrifying aspect was the monster's face; its head was broad, without much of a neck, with crystalline teeth jutting unnaturally from its jaw, razor sharp fangs faintly visible within its slightly open, wide mouth. Its eyes were dark, black portals, devoid of humanity, full of rage and hate; wisps of white hair spotted its skull, giving the feeling that it once had a full head of hair, but over the years, as it dwelt in loathing and rancor, the hair died from an emotional cancer, the lack of anything resembling kindness rotting within its body.

Finally freed from its cell, the creature took a few steps away from its vessel before it staggered, dropping to its knees, shaking its head as if it was confused, trying to orient itself. For the moment, it completely ignored the three heroes, giving them time to shake off their stupor from the sudden emergence of this monster. They all felt its violent power, and all felt fear as they gazed upon it; where Starfire and Raven's fear was from the unknown, not recognizing the monster before them, although they felt as if they should, Robin's fear was from the known. They young leader knew the creature that knelt before them, and words of despair left his mouth before he could stop them.

"God help us…"

Starfire and Raven turned to their leader in surprise, their eyes wide, having never heard such fear, hopelessness, and sorrow in Robin's voice before; the boy wonder ignored them, his mind working fast, trying to think of any way he can save his doomed city. Never had he ever thought that the information he had read about this monster would ever be useful; as the protégé of Batman, Robin had a few extra perks then his teammates, the most valuable being access to the extensive and immense database created and secured by Batman himself. The digital library nestled within the Batcave was second to none, envied by every world government, agency, and organization; even the powerful Justice League's computer system paled in comparison, the Teen Titan's network within the Tower being half the League's size.

There were two core principles when being taught by Batman; first, knowledge is power. Robin's education was more complete then most of his fellow heroes, having the equivalent of a college education at the age when most would be just starting. However, this first proverb was useless without Batman's second: always be prepared; with these two aphorisms drilled into his head, Robin would often, during his down time, access Batman's database, using it to research cases, investigate criminals, and to further his knowledge about potential villainous threats. Still, this encounter before him was never expected, and Robin had pulled up its case file out of habit more then anything else; the mere fact that He was here raised more questions and concerns. After all, last he knew, they had banished Him to the Phantom Zone; how had He escaped a supposedly inescapable realm?

These questions would only raise more, so Robin dismissed them, for they didn't matter; the simple fact was that He was here, and unless He was stopped, Jump City, and the Teen Titans, would be destroyed. With a desperate need to prevent this catastrophe, Robin's mind buzzed with thoughts, trying to form a plan for the city's survival. The danger that threatened the city was two fold; part of Jump in ruins, and the destruction spreading, Robin needed his friends out in the field, saving lives. However, if He is allowed to run rampart, all rescue effort would be in vain; this dilemma weighed heavily on the young leader. Still, within a heartbeat Robin had a plan, or the beginnings of a plan, one that could allow for the survival of Jump City, and all who dwelt within. Robin had an ace up his sleeve, but, unfortunately, his ace wasn't actually in his sleeve; it rested within the Tower, and someone would have to leave to activate it.

But Robin needed time, time he would soon not have, as the monster, under effects of sedatives that were administered to Him before being locked away, started to shake off the drugs' effects. The minutes of safety were ticking away, and Robin had a choice to make; he greatly wanted the team together, to face this challenge like they had faced all others, as one unit, but this was an impossibility. Cyborg and Beast Boy were already facing challenges of their own, and Robin would not allow them to abandon their responsibilities to face a foe that would, in all likelihood, kill them. It was a cruel fact, but true all the same; Robin knew of this creature's capabilities, and knew how his friends fought and moved. Neither had the experience or ability to face this foe for more then a few seconds.

This left the two dear friends he had next to him; Raven he dismissed immediately, though. The medicated monster was impervious to all magical attacks and abilities, Robin recalled, so anything Raven could do against Him would be futile; this, plus the fact that Raven was still exhausted from her mental confrontation with Him, forced Robin to make a difficult choice.

Out of all the young superheroes, Starfire would, logically, be the most likely to survive the longest against this monster; she was both physically stronger and more durable then any of the other Teen Titans, after all. The sudden image of a beaten and bloody Starfire flashed before his eyes, preventing the young man from choosing this option, as the thought of Starfire, or anyone, getting severely hurt was too painful; instead he forced his thoughts to turn away from the short term issue to the long term one, being the people of the city. It was then that a cold realization washed over the young hero; there was a way for all the problems at hand to be dealt with.

Although he had thought through a dozen ideas and strategies, only a few seconds had passed since He had emerged, and Robin knew he had little time left; turning sharply, surprising his two friends, as he was motionless while he pondered, Robin grasped Starfire, his hands clutching into her arms, his face dead serious and tone grave, "Listen carefully, Starfire, there isn't much time before He shakes of the sedatives and realizes where He is."

Starfire, confused, began to speak, "Robin, what-"

The young hero cut her off, his voice sharp, "Not now, Starfire, we only have one shot at this and I need your full attention." The edge in his voice quieted the alien, her eyes widening as Robin continued his command, "Once I'm done speaking, you are to fly as fast as you possibly can to the Tower." Starfire, not liking this one bit, opened her mouth to argue, but Robin again cut her off before she could speak, "Don't interrupt, listen closely! Go to my room; on the left side of my bed is my nightstand. In the bottom drawer there is a long, silver box; the box contains a half dozen pins. Ignore all but the blue one; remove it and press the center for three seconds. Once you get a response, inform him that we have an Omega level threat, authorization code one, eight, one, one, seven, two, two. Tell him Doomsday has attacked Jump City."

A cold feeling suddenly ran down both women's backs as a name was finally given to this creature; having never seen Doomsday before, they had only heard of rumors about the near immortal creature. What they did know, however, was that the Justice League had faced this abomination a few years back; if it wasn't for Superman, there might not even be a League today. Stories were told of how over a dozen Leaguers fought the powerful monster, Doomsday defeating all of them within moments, rampaging through Metropolis; if the Man of Steel hadn't arrived, millions of lives would have been lost, and it had almost cost the Kryptonian his life subduing the monster.

Now Doomsday was in Jump City, and there were no Kryptonians to call upon.

Starfire, staring deeply into Robin's facemask, feeling a horrible sense of foreboding, tried to speak once more, "Robin, please, what are-"

Her leader rested his fingers upon her lips, quieting her once again, his words washing over her, "There's no time, the fate of Jump lies in your hands, and I have one final order for you." Starfire nodded, not liking his choice of words; Robin swallowed heavily, and spoke firmly, "Once you give the code, you will report to either Cyborg or Raven, and help with the evacuation of the city." There was a poignant pause before he spoke again, the young man staring intently at her, speaking each word carefully, "Under no circumstances are you to approach this area and engage the enemy; your only priority is to save as many lives as you can. Do I make myself clear?"

Starfire hesitated for a moment, not really understanding why Robin was telling her to leave him, or understanding what was going on; all she had was a bad feeling, a twisting in her stomach, an ache in her heart, a powerful sense of dread. It was no secret the young woman cared deeply for Robin, for all of her friends, and her instinctive reaction, her Tamaranean blood, cried out to her, telling her to deny Robin's request, to remain by his side, where she felt like she belonged, but she found herself unable to speak her rejection. Robin trusted her, had faith that she would carry out his request; Starfire could feel his confidence in her, that she would not let him down, that she would be safe. Biting her lip so hard it bled, Starfire nodded.

Robin released the breath he had held, his shoulders sagging in relief; he knew that the most difficult part of his plan was convincing Starfire to retrieve the pin, the young woman stubborn in her reluctance to leave her friends. Although her body shook, with fear, confusion, or anxiety he did not know, Robin knew that the beautiful alien would carry out his orders, and save the city's inhabitants; more importantly, he knew that she would remain away from the area, staying away from Doomsday's lethal grasp. A sudden, subdued roar from the aforementioned monster forced Robin's gaze away from Starfire; the creature had finally regained its balance, standing, although it still swayed, not fully recovered. Soon it would completely shake off its debilitating medication, and then, Robin knew, the end would begin; steeling himself, Robin turned back to Starfire, her eyes soulful, a tiny streak of blood rolling down her chin. Gritting his jaw, he gently wiped her lips, removing the bloodstain, asking her, "What is the authorization code?"

"One, eight, one, one, seven, two, two," she replied instantly, although her voice wavered as she spoke.

Robin smiled, "Good; go!"

With that, Starfire was gone, nothing but a trial of fire in her wake as she sped off, pouring all of her energy into returning home as fast as possible; her haste did not originate from Robin's words, but from her gut feelings that she must retrieve Robin's item before it was too late. Too late for what, she was unsure; the destruction of Jump? The death of its inhabitants? The death of her friends? The last thought lingered the longest in her head, and she tried to banish the dreadful images; there was no point to doubt. Starfire harnessed the worry that wracked her into determination; she would get answers from the pin's responder, and she would make the help arrive in time.


	3. Declaration

**Declaration**

As the alien princess was burning through the air to the Tower, Robin turned to Raven, who's pale face looked sick, her violet eyes shimmering with confusion, and dread; Robin averted his gaze to stare at Doomsday, adjusting his gloves almost nervously, telling her quietly, "As I said to Starfire, you and the Teen Titans are to evacuate and rescue the people of Jump; no one will enter the area or engage the enemy. Understood?"

The empath, glancing quickly to the monster as it remained where it stood, its back to them, its head bobbing side to side, the creature still under the effects of the lethargic drugs, shook her head, speaking heavily, "No, Robin, I don't think I understand. What the hell is going on here?"

Robin, reaching up to his ear to pull out the medical plug, feeling his head clear up slightly, continued to avoid Raven's gaze, telling her, his voice very cold, "Jump City is under attack, and the Teen Titans will protect its citizens, that's what the hell's going on. You have your orders!"

The casual dismissal angered the young empath, and when she tried to appeal to their mental link, only to find it thoroughly blocked, her anger ignited; swiftly moving in front of the stoic man, her eyes blazing, she poked him sharply in the chest, hissing, "Don't you dare give me that bullcrap, Robin!" when he finally looked down to her, and she could see the fear in his face, her anger dissolved, "By Azar, I'm frightened here, and you're not helping; you can almost taste the fear from Starfire too, yet you have her racing off to get some kind of pin? She should be getting our friends; they're closer than the Tower, and we should all be here to face this thing." He voice was becoming panicked, and tendrils of dark energy were starting to whip around her as her emotions showed, "Damn it, I'm still weak from my contact with it, and the two of us aren't strong enough to defeat that!"

The young man, his face still blank, gently rested his hand on her arm, his touch calming the distressed woman, and he told her, "No one can defeat him, Raven, and _we_ will certainly not be facing him." His gaze turned to Doomsday, who was now still, not a good sign, before speaking again, "…I will."

The young woman felt her chest tighten at his words, and she stared at him blankly, for a moment thinking she heard wrong; Raven was able to finally choke out, "W-what? Robin, are you insane? You can't fight that thing! You just said that he can't be defeated, but you turn around and tell me you'll be fighting this… this monster!"

Robin shook his head, facing the distressed woman again, telling her, "No… no, I will not be _fighting_ Doomsday." His words, while confusing, did raise a spark of hope within Raven, who started to smile, but her lips were unable to complete the action, for Robin was not done speaking, "I'm going to stall him."

Raven's composure, already stressed, started to fail at his words, the woman feeling a torrent of emotions, most tainted with confusion, not understanding Robin's plan, his strong hand on her not helping her delicate state; grasping onto his arm for support, for her legs felt unsteady, she whispered, her voice hoarse, "Stall him?" she couldn't wrap her head around it, what he was saying was making no sense, "What do you mean 'stall him'? I've been inside that thing's head, Robin! That creature has to be the closest thing imaginable to the physical embodiment of violence and rage; how do you stall something like that? You can't strike up a pleasant conversation, and if he attacks you, you're as good as-"

The rest of her words died, her eyes widening as she stared up into Robin's face, once frightened, tight with stress and worry, was softer now, his jaw no longer clenched. Her chest became heavy, and she found it exceedingly difficult to draw in her next breath, with it asking something she hoped he would deny, "You… you're expecting to die, aren't you?"

His silence was all the answer she needed.

Digging her hands into him, she forced herself to remain calm, her overtaxed strength wavering, her magic slipping out of her control for a moment, causing more cracks of dark lightning to strike around her; the empath, like all of her friends, knew the dangers of their chosen professions, knew that they were risking their lives and limbs for what they believed was right, but out of all of them, she had always thought, deep down, that Robin was above this innate threat. He was Robin, protégé of Batman, acrobat and daredevil, leaping and tumbling above the grasp of death, taunting the dark spirit with his natural grace and dexterity. He was the only normal human, the only young hero who had no powers, or modifications, or magic, surviving on training and wits alone, yet time and time again he had earned respect from his friends, not only with his fighting skills, but leadership qualities. Never had Robin's lack of powers been a hindrance or handicap; the young man often working twice as hard as everyone else, as if he had to continue to prove his worth. As far as Raven, and every other Teen Titan, was concerned, Robin had no need to prove his value as a fighter, leader, and friend. An uncomfortable lump formed in Raven's throat; had any of them ever told Robin this, though?

Her mind busy, Raven didn't notice Robin moving slightly, shifting in her grasp, and it wasn't until she felt a warm, sudden weight rest upon her shoulders that she snapped out of her reverie; at first all she noticed was Robin's hands, which were hovering below her chin, his knuckles lightly brushing against her as he secured something. When he finished, he gently removed her clenching fingers from his aching arm, the empath's grip strong, and took a step back; Raven, missing the light touch, raised her own hand to where Robin's used to be, her fingers seeing for her, feeling a smooth, cool fabric covering her ruby brooch. Staring at Robin, she noticed that he looked different; she could see his strong shoulders clearer, his sculpted neck bare, and his figure seeming smaller, his ever present cape no longer obscuring his size. Eyes widening with surprise, Raven pulled the fabric covering her cloak forward, verifying that Robin did, in fact, give her his cape.

Robin spoke before Raven could ask, his voice surprisingly light, "It'll only get in the way; besides, I've been thinking about getting rid of it for a while now." This was true, but there was another meaning behind his gift, one that he hoped Raven would remember.

Raven, the cape gripped tightly in her fist, started to shake her head, not willing to abandon her friend, speaking brokenly, "Robin… Richard, don't-"

A booming roar drowned anything else Raven could say, and both heroes immediately turned to the source of the noise, Robin swearing softly; the young man thought that he still had a few minutes before they were spotted, but time ran out for the two. Doomsday, finally shaking off the most debilitating effects of the numbing drug, the creature able to think coherently once more, didn't care how he had gotten freed from his confinement, or how he had gotten back to solid ground; loathing festered within him, hatred for the being who had defeated him, for the costumed heroes who had imprisoned him within the Phantom Zone. He cared not that these two before him looked nothing like those who had mocked and tormented him; their dress was similar, outlandish, so they would be the first to pay for his banishment.

Howling with rage, he turned to the remains of his restrictive vessel, and hefting the heavy object without strain he threw the damaged capsule straight at the two teens; Raven, surprised by the sudden action, still had enough time to form a magical barrier in front of them, the heavy projectile crashing loudly onto her shield, Raven straining to absorb the blow and keep her magic active. The magic held, and the space cell shattered, debris scattering around the two heroes; Doomsday gave them no time to recuperate, as it had started its charge as the missile flew; both dodged, tumbling away from the other, and it, Robin hurling a handful of weak, but bright and loud, explosives into the monster's face. The grenades did as they were intended, drawing the creatures attention to the agile man; twisting and turning, Robin was, barely, able to dodge Doomsday's attacks, the monster's fists moving slower then normal, partly due to the side effects of his sedative, and partly due to the time spent in captivity.

Raven, having retreated a short distance, watched the two for a few seconds, her eyes lingering on the graceful, almost dancelike movement of Robin, before forcing her attention back to the issue at hand; growling her mantra, "Azeroth, Metrion, Zinthos!" she levitated a half dozen large pieces of spacecraft debris; the young woman needed nothing but a thought to move anything under her control, although she never got past the habit of using her arms and hands as an embellishment. Her hands were already moving forward, pointing at the lumbering monster, and her mental command was already issued when Robin screamed.

"Raven, no!"

The warning came too late; already committed to the act, six magically enhanced missiles crashed upon the back of Doomsday, the monster staggering under the unexpected blows. Doomsday roared with fury, already angered by his failed attempts to destroy the nimble boy before him, the small stings of pain upon his back enraging him further. It was then that Raven realized her mistake; Robin, trying bravely to keep the monster in check, found himself casually backhanded by Doomsday, the young man driven to distraction when he called out to Raven. The blow hurt, knocking Robin back a dozen feet, tumbling across the scorched ground to cushion his fall, feeling at least one rib break from the contact. Robin's wound was not the only repercussion of Raven's act, however; the empath did not notice Robin recover quickly, rolling onto his feet, hunched over, pulling something out of his belt, ready to spring. No, Raven was too busy staring down death, as her attack turned Doomsday's attention from the young detective to herself.

The monster, no longer finding sport in Robin, had turned to face the empath, a target that had hurt him, if only slightly, a hero who would be easy prey; in quick succession he struck Robin, turning abruptly, and charged the stunned empath, his eyes almost glowing red with rage, his spiked arm arched back to strike. Raven, her instinctive will to live kicking in, immediately created a magical, black wall between the rampaging monster and her; to Raven's horror, though, Doomsday passed through the wall as if it never existed, his fist rapidly closing the distance to its target.

Raven's life would soon be over; she knew it, as she stared at her own death, in the form of Doomsday's jagged fists. There was nothing she could do to prevent the end of her life, and, she realized, she wanted to live; a few years ago, before the defeat of Trigon, Raven held little value in her own life. After all, she was living on borrowed time; on her sixteenth birthday, as foretold in ancient prophesy, her body would be used as a portal, allowing her father and his demonic horde a gateway to the mortal realm. Raven never expected to live through the experience, let alone witness the defeat of her hated parent. But there was a miracle, and her friends stood up to the King of Demons, giving Raven the hope, belief, and trust she needed to tap into her latent powers, banishing Trigon back to Hell. She was able to live her own life from then on, and she had cherished every moment of it. What she adored more then all, though, was her friends, who had become her family; her heart ached, as, in one terrible moment, all of that would be gone, her life snuffed out.

The killing blow never landed; it happened so fast Raven's mind could only barely process the turn of events. She never heard it, her ears ringing with her own heartbeat, but she felt it; a breath away from death, so close that Doomsday's fist brushed the tips of her hair, a thin, strong cord wrapped around Raven's waist, pulling her away from danger at the last possible moment. Dragged through the air, she landed into the strong, warm arms of Robin, the empath immediately wrapping her arms around him, not only to steady herself, but to convince herself that he was real. The young man, rolling with Doomsday's blow, combined with his early positioning as he dodged the monster's hits, had ended up parallel to the empath, not behind Doomsday as they initially fought. Thinking quickly, he had used one of his few specialized grapple hooks to rescue Raven; while traditional grapples were used solely to puncture buildings and support Robin's weight, the young hero had a handful of 'capture grapples', as he had nicknamed them. With a subtle tug, they are designed to encircle an object, like a pole or girder, or a friend who's in trouble.

Raven, shaking from fear, looked up gratefully into Robin's face, only to see he was still staring off into the distance, to where she had come from, his hands moving behind her back, the empath feeling slight tugging from the cord that was around her; she called his name, wanting to give her thanks, but when his gaze finally turned to her, her breath caught. The boy wonder was smiling softly down at her, his face kind, his gaze, even through the mask, heartfelt; their faces were close, Raven able to feel his warm breath tickle her skin. Everything was moving too fast, Raven unable to keep up; all at once, a frightening and wonderful feeling washed over the empath as she clung to Robin, not wanting to let go, even though she knew Doomsday would soon be upon them. Robin was speaking, his lips moving, Raven staring at them intently, her ears trying to catch up; when they did, and she gasped in horror, she was already flying away, Robin having secured a second grapple to the one already encircling the empath, using it to force Raven away from him, away from the fight. It was his words that haunted her, though.

"Goodbye."

Raven, her mind unfocused and unable to call upon her powers, couldn't help but watch Robin, grasping out to him desperately, as she was pulled away, the long and powerful grapple finding a secure hold on a ruined building far off. It seemed to take forever until the empath finally landed, colliding into a crumbling wall, hundreds of yards away from Robin; the landing wasn't graceful, the ruined building crumbling due to the impact, dust and debris covering the empath. It took Raven a few seconds of struggling to dig herself out of the charred concrete, and seconds more attempting to remove the cord that was hugging her waist; it didn't help that the empath was frustrated, Raven not even noticing the small whirlwinds of dark energy forming around her as she tore at the chord, half a mind to ignore Robin's words and rush back there, even though her cold, logical mind told her that she could do nothing to Doomsday. Even though she had witnessed the monster's immunity to her magic, she didn't want to believe it, she wanted to think that she needed to fight beside her friend, to die next to him if it came down to it.

Almost free from her bindings, a sudden shockwave rippled through the ground, causing Raven to loose her balance, falling down once again; caused by Doomsday, no doubt, in his frustrated attempts to demolish Robin, the monster's blows had more power behind them then a tank, his wild swings damaging the already ravaged land. Her face paling, with her mind imagining what would happen to Robin if a punch from that creature landed upon his thin frame, Raven, thrashing wildly in her attempt, finally freed herself from the restrictive cord; the rope fell to the side, but the young woman didn't notice it. Instead, during her flailing, she had noticed a small note slip out of one of the pockets from Robin's cape; her hand darting to grasp the folded paper, Raven found herself opening it, not really knowing why. There were no names on it, it was addressed to no one, and there were five simple words written there, the penmanship sloppy, the note written in haste, but, she could tell, still written by Robin.

'Protect the people of Jump'

Raven clutched the note in her hand, staring at it, hearing more howls and crashes from the distance, her mind blank for a moment; the paper was meant for her, she knew it, but it didn't feel like an order. More like a plea. Raven cursed, loudly, using words that no proper young lady should ever utter; damn Robin for his stubbornness, and damn him for his selfish nobility. Raven, her loyalties torn between her dear friend and beloved city, realized the trap Robin had set, not only for her but all of his friends. No matter how much she, and all of the other Teen Titans, wanted to aid Robin, Raven knew that they would, in the end, carry out his orders; the fate of many outweighed the fate of a few, or of one, no matter how important to her that one person was.

Forcing herself to regain control of her powers, Raven took to the air, and although she hesitated, she did turn away from the crater, flying to find Cyborg, and, even though she wanted to, she did not look back, praying to Azar that Starfire would return in time.

Robin's fight for survival started the moment Raven was dragged away; Doomsday, a bloodlust overwhelming him, was relentless, striking out at Robin once he saw the female hero disappear from sight. It took all of Robin's skill and concentration to avoid the attacks, but even his great skills weren't enough; his head sill heavy from his ear wound, and his side aching from a broken rib, he was grazed by the great monster's knee jab, the young man using his arms to absorb and deflect the blow. Thankfully, Doomsday's knee was one of the few places that a crystalline growth was not present, but this was little consolation, as the faint hit still had the power of a truck behind it, causing Robin to get hurled once again a few dozen feet away. Although it hurt, Robin tucking into a ball so his back and behind would absorb the damage, the boy wonder found himself relieved to get some distance from Doomsday. Reacting quickly, tossing a smoke grenade to buy him another few seconds of safety, Robin tumbled to the side, reaching into his belt for something intended for emergencies like this, although the young man never though he'd actually have to use it. Pulling out a small syringe, filled with a clear liquid, Robin, without any hesitance, jabbed the needle into his leg, injecting himself with a dangerous medicine; Robin hoped that it would give him the edge to survive.

The effect was instantaneous; his head cleared, his vision became focused, all of his senses became sharper, and the pain in his back and chest vanished. Breathing deeply, the hint of a grin on his face, Robin turned to the charging Doomsday, who had finally found the young man, hindered by the smoke; moving faster then he had moments ago, or even ever before, Robin met the monster's charge, dodging skillfully through the forest of limbs and spikes, placing a small, but extremely powerful grenade in the crook of Doomsday's left arm. Continuing his tumbling, Robin emerged behind the behemoth without a scratch, and grinned widely as his grenade exploded. While no major wound, the attack had hurt Doomsday, who roared at the pain, turning yet again to Robin, raised both arms above his head to pulverize the annoying hero. Dodging at the last moment, looking like he was riding the massive shockwave Doomsday caused, Robin tossed a handful of razor-sharp birdarangs at the creature. Normally, an attack like this would have felt like the falling of leaves to the giant, but Robin, his accuracy, already pinpoint, further enhanced, landed each small missile right atop the other, all gouging at Doomsday's armpit, right where the grenade had detonated. It was like stings to the creature, small and insignificant, but still painful; Robin was confident that Doomsday had forgotten all about anything and everything else.

With a quick leap and rapid back flips, Robin backed up to face the behemoth, one hand holding a few small explosives, the other held in front of him, beckoning Doomsday closer, grinning as he faced his death, calling out, "Over here, tiny."

The monster bellowed in fury, rushing forward, and the battle was joined.


	4. Support

**Support**

Starfire had always been one for direct actions to problems at hand, the alien princess never fully grasping subtlety, her Tamaranean blood urging her to rush headlong into all situations, dangerous or otherwise; thus it was no surprise that the young woman did not enter the Tower by the front doors, patiently waiting for the elevator to rise to the residential section, or even taking the emergency stairwell and flying up. No, without second thought Starfire, having finally reached her home, crashed headfirst through the window to Robin's room, using her arms to protect her face, honestly not caring for the mess she had made; ignoring the shards of glass and small cuts dotting her arms, she rushed to Robin's nightstand, almost tearing into the draw, looking for the case he described. It was easy to spot, being the sole object within Robin's now damaged bedstand; grasping the box tightly, and forcing herself to calm down, she opened the silver chest, idly noticing the delicate and extensive detailed etchings, depicting a half dozen small birds in flight, covering the small container, gazing within. The inside belittled the elegant coverings, a simple row of pins without any embellishments lined in a row; like Robin had said, there were six pins, all of different colors, but most looked like the one next to it, all aside from the last pin, shaped like a bat.

Starfire's eyes lingered for a few moments on the other pins, curiously wondering what they were for, as the one she sought was the least interesting; there was a silver pin with a golden eagle stamped in the center, looking very expensive and polished, a red pin with a yellow lightning bolt in the center, a pin that was blue but had a red circle in the middle, a green pin with a black line down the center, the solid blue pin that she removed from the box, and the black, bat-shaped pin. Closing the case and tossing it onto Robin's bead, she stared at the pin for a moment before pressing its center, counting slowly to three. There was a moment of static before a confused voice sounded from the small device, asking, "Robin?"

Starfire shook her head, even though the speaker was not there to see her gesture, replying, "My name is Starfire; friend Robin remains still in the ruins of Jump, and-"

A second voice from the small device interrupted the young woman, static distorting the words, although Starfire could tell it was a woman's voice, "What do you mean 'the ruins of Jump'? We haven't-"

"Diana, not now," the first speaker cut in, his voice sounding distant, obviously talking to the second person, before becoming louder, speaking to the confused alien, his tone slightly scolding, "What is going on, young lady? Where is Robin, and how did you get this communicator?"

Starfire, feeling a mixture of confusion and anger, spoke harshly, "Robin has sent me away from him to get this pin! And I am trying to tell you what is going on! Jump city has been attacked by an Omega level threat-"

"What?" the second voice exclaimed, sounding suspicious, "That's impossible! The-"

"-an Omega level threat," Starfire yelled, drowning out the two voices, the first arguing with the second, "one, eight, one, one, seven, two, two!"

As soon as the code left her mouth, the two voices became silent, the light static the only source of sound; after a moment, the first person spoke, his voice serious, "Tell me what the situation is, Starfire."

The young woman swallowed before blurting, "A large area of Jump City is in ruins, burning, and the destruction is spreading." She hesitated for a moment before she said the words both voices had never expected to hear, "Doomsday is attacking Jump."

"Hera, no…" the second voice whispered, Starfire able to hear her only due to the oppressive silence hanging in the air; the first voice, his voice turning grim, only asked, "How long since he landed?"

Starfire thought for a moment, answering, "I… I'm not positive, but it has been less then ten minutes since the asteroid crashed; and perhaps only a few, less then five minutes certainly, since Robin sent me away."

"Alright," the voice replied, "Clear the area around Doomsday, don't let anyone near him; the sedatives he was given should keep him in a docile state for an hour, but we don't want to risk-"

"Doomsday is awake!" Starfire interrupted, her voice urgent, "Awake and overcoming these sedatives you have given him!"

The voice cursed to himself before muttering, "Not good, not good at all… Alright, just steer clear of the area, and get as many people as you can away from him, and do not engage him!" His voice became distant again, speaking to the woman near him, "We're aborting the mission; we have to get back to Earth, now!"

A third voice sounded from the small pin, his voice deeper then the first, causing Starfire to wonder how many pairs of ears were listening to this conversation, "Understood, but it will take us over thirty minutes to navigate the Javelin back to the Watchtower."

"No!" Starfire exclaimed, realizing that this would not do, "That is too long, Robin needs your aid now!"

"I agree," the first voice said, not catching all of Starfire's words, "We need to get there sooner; Doomsday could destroy the entire city in that amount of time." He paused, then ordered, "Use the gate drive."

"It has not been fully tested, and we don't know-" the third voice started, sounding doubtful.

"I don't care, make the jump." There was a moment of silence before the third speaker agreed; the first speaking again into the communicator, "We'll probably lose you during the jump, Starfire; as soon as I get a signal back, I'll let you know. As long as everything works smoothly, we'll be there in less then ten minutes; I need you to give the pin to Robin, I have some questions for him."

Starfire shook her head, saying, "I am sorry, but I can not; Robin has given me a task to report to Cyborg or Raven at the emergency HQ, so I may aid in the evacuation of Jump."

The voice, becoming distorted by a surge of static, asked, "So? If I know that boy, he'll be there already, controlling the evacuation like a drill sergeant; you can give him the pin when you see him."

"No, Robin will not be at the HQ," Starfire replied, her voice heavy, "I think… I think he stayed behind."

"What!" the voice exclaimed, sounding worried.

"I think Robin stayed behind!" Starfire repeated, raising her voice slightly to overcome the surge of static emitted from the small pin, "I think Robin remained with Doomsday!"

There was a long moment of silence before the man spoke again, for the first time his voice laced with fear, "Rao, curse that boy's stubborn streak! J'onn, make the jump! Make it now!"

There was a loud crackle, then the noise stopped, the line dead; Starfire, her eyes wide, her heart aching, clutched the pin tightly, hesitating, before taking into the air again. Now, more then ever, she wanted to return to Robin, realizing she got none of the answers she wanted, the conversation with Robin's helpers over too quickly, and she was still in a very worried and concerned state. Flying slowly, she almost disobeyed Robin's order, returning to him, if she had not noticed a black streak gliding through the air in the far distance, heading to the ground where lots of flashing red and blue lights were flickering in the air; knowing that the person flying could only be Raven, Starfire decided to meet up with the empath first, before anything else.

As Starfire left the Tower, Raven, having easily located the headquarters of the JPD and JFD emergency response crew, hovered above the large, hastily made compound, looking for a familiar green boy, or animal, the shiny, metal head of Cyborg, or some sort of command hut or tent; it was eventually Cyborg the empath spotted, the metal man standing near the center of the camp, leaning over a table, a few men and woman standing near or next to him, all pointing at, what Raven assumed, a map of Jump. Landing quickly, a few officers and firefighters greeting the young hero, Raven made her way to Cyborg, who was busy talking to the fire chief and police commissioner, along with a few of the two men's aids; just as Raven got close to Cyborg, the conversation ended, everyone moving about, urgent to complete their jobs.

Still looking at the map, his lips thin while he thought, he called out, "'Bout time you got here; all this planning stuff makes my head hurt. Commissioner Freeman wants to speak with you, Robin; BB and I have located most of the trouble spots, and the Commissioner wants a clear line of communication between us and his force. Also, I need your input in this plan that I proposed-"

Cyborg's rambling was cut off by Raven, who cleared her throat loudly, catching his attention, turning his gaze away from the map and to the empath, the large man blinking at the sight of a single teammate, blurting, "Yo, where's Robin?"

Raven, forcing her face to remain blank, hesitated, her slight shifting noticed by Cyborg; the older hero, having a sudden feeling of foreboding, frowned, asking again, quieter, "Raven, what happened?"

Raven, opening her mouth to answer, could only get out "Cyborg-" before a flash of red hair barreled into her, Starfire making her entrance, grasping onto Raven tightly, pulling the startled woman into a hug.

"Friend Raven, you are unharmed!" Starfire cried, squeezing the flustered empath close, ignoring the confused look of Cyborg, "Please, _please_, Raven, tell me Robin is with you!"

Raven, freeing herself from Starfire's grasp, could only shake her head, her mind scrounging for words; she felt obligated to tell them Robin's plan, his choice to face Doomsday, stalling the monster at the cost of his life, but found herself unable too.

Starfire gasped at Raven's denial, crying, "No! I have done as he asked, spoken to the pin, and told the man what has happened!" she held out the blue pin in her hands as proof of her deed, "And the man said they are on the way! Ten minutes, that's all! I will go get Robin if I have to!"

Starfire, so determined, started to float, reading herself to take off, but was prevented by Raven, who grasped the alien, crying, "No, Starfire, you can't go there, no one can, he gave us an order, the people of Jump need us, not him!"

The young woman looked shocked, replying, her voice heavy with worry and fear, "But… but I don't want to stay; I have a bad feeling, Raven, and my heart hurts. They sounded frightened, worried, these allies Robin had me contact; let me get Robin, first, then-"

"Hey, clueless teammate over here! Could you please tell me what the hell's going on!" Cyborg shouted, silencing the two women, both turning to the confused and frustrated man.

Raven, staring into the grim face of Cyborg, replied, her voice emotionless, "The meteorite that crashed was no asteroid; it was a vessel that contained the monster Doomsday. Doomsday is attacking Jump City."

It took all but a half second for Cyborg to recognize the name; being part machine did have some benefits, one being a very organized and expansive memory. As fast as he could think, Cyborg had pulled up all information about the creature known as Doomsday and accessed the stored data he had on him; eyes widening with shock, Cyborg swore, causing Starfire to instinctively frown at the foul language, the young princess being the only one in the team who avoided naughty words. Cyborg ignored Starfire, staring at Raven, muttering, "Don't be playing me, Raven, this is not the time."

Raven snorted, asking, "Like I'm the one who jokes about this?"

"For once I wish you did. Fuck." Cyborg swore again, rubbing his head as he tried to think; whatever thought process he started was halted as he did a simple calculation, "Wait, where's Robin again?"

Raven hesitated for only a moment before answering the question, "…Robin is still at the crater's center, where Doomsday landed. He's placed us in charge of rescuing and evacuating the civilians of Jump while he stalls-"

"Stalls?" Cyborg exclaimed, reaching out and grasping Raven's arm, "What the hell were you thinking! Do you even know what the hell Doomsday is capable of? You should have ported him back with you!"

"Don't you think I wanted to?" Raven spat, shrugging out of Cyborg's grasp, "I know very well what Doomsday's capable of, and so does Robin! By Azer, I've been inside that twisted creatures head!"

"But," Starfire interjected, "Aid is only ten minutes away, less now; there is no need for Robin to stall the monster!" she pleaded with Raven, seeing Cyborg nod in support, "Let me leave, and-"

Raven shook her head, "You're wrong, both of you! You," she pointed to Cyborg, "weren't there, you haven't seen Him, and you," nodding to Starfire, "left before He awoke. You have no idea what it can really do to this city if left unchecked! I do, I've _seen_ what it can do, how much destruction it can bring in only a few minutes!" her head started to ache, and she rested her it in her hands, her cool fingers soothing her heated temples, "What I saw inside of it when it mentally attacked me… someone has to keep it away from the innocent, from the people of Jump. And _damn_ Robin for his stubbornness, he _knows_ we'll do what's _right_ and aid the civilians!"

Cyborg was speechless, amazed by Raven's words, and realizing that, even though he disagreed with the choices that were made, Raven spoke the truth; he had no doubt that Robin would order them to abandon him to save others. Cyborg also knew that, in the end, they would all follow that order; feeling trapped, outmaneuvered, the metal-clad man clenched his fist, punching the wooden table next to him hard enough to crack the wooden plank, "Damn it, fine, I get that Doomsday needs to be stalled, but Robin had no right to volunteer himself!" He shook his head, "Starfire or I should be the one out there," he gestured, "not Robin! He's only human; a normal guy like him can't-"

"He is _not_ normal!" Raven hissed, surprising them both with the passion in her words, "Don't you _ever_ say he's 'only human'! How many times has he saved us? Risked his life for us? Fought alongside us, we who have amazing powers and abilities to rely on, unlike him? How can you call him _normal_ when his is everything but!"

Cyborg could only gape at her, his mouth hung wide, staring at the empath; he tried to say something, anything, but was spared the trouble by the arrival of a green hawk that swooped in front of him, morphing into Beast Boy, who started speaking the moment he landed, "Cyborg, we have a problem! There's a building that's being evacuated, but the firefighters don't think they have enough time to get everyone out before it either collapses or burns to the ground! It's, like, thirty stories high, and has lots of people still in it. I mean, she, Brenda, the firefighter, cute, by the way, said we have some time, but, like in a few minutes it's gonna totally be-"

"Alright BB, I get it!" Cyborg yelled, cutting of the agitated changeling; he turned to Raven and Starfire, telling them, "We'll figure that out later, lets take care of this first!"

The two women nodded, Raven composing herself, but before she could levitate, a sudden figure appeared in front of her; starting, she realized it was Beast Boy, who was staring at her intently. A little too intently, actually, his face scrunched up and his head tilted, similar to a dog that's trying to figure something out; becoming a little embarrassed, Raven took a step back, asking, "W-what?"

Beast Boy, a finger lightly tapping his chin as he investigated whatever had grabbed his attention, didn't reply immediately, turning his head from side to side before answering, "Um… So, does this mean you're the leader now?"

Raven blinked, sputtering a very eloquent, "What?"

Beast Boy, his question having grabbed everyone else's attention, reached out a hand, grasping at the cloak covering Raven's cape, "This; if you're wearing this, that must mean you're in charge now, right?"

Cyborg and Starfire, their minds distracted, didn't actually notice Robin's cape that Raven was wearing; the empath, confused, could only stare at the green man for a few moments before she remembered. A strange feeling churned her stomach, and she was unsure if she wanted to laugh or cry; who else but Beast Boy would remember the ridiculous argument that the boys had gotten into years ago, when the Teen Titans had just been formed. The three adolescent males had different opinions on who should lead the new team, each, obviously, stating that they should be the ringleader; in the end, Robin, through words, logic, and a little friendly competition, was declared the commander, but it was a very early comment, Raven recalled, that prompted Beat Boys current question. When the green boy had asked why Robin should be the leader, the boy wonder replied, a grin on his face and his words light, "Because I wear the cape, of course!"

That simple phrase became an ongoing joke within the group, Beast Boy or Cyborg, sometimes both, trying to capture Robin's cape to declare themselves leader for the day; not once had they been successful, and as time passed it became less common to see one of the trying to sneak up on Robin, the issue of 'who was in charge' no longer relevant among the group. Raven, not an original participant in the foolish game, had forgotten this childish statement; leave it to Beast Boy to remember. Raven, noticing all of them eying her now, their faces accepting, felt a rush of concern, replying, "No! I am not 'in charge'! Cyborg is, obviously. Robin, he just gave me the cape because he said it would get in the way, that's all!"

Beast Boy, giving a small frown, shook his head, "No, if Robin gave you his cape, it must be because he wants you leading us." Nodding at his own statement, he gave a small bow, to the horror of Raven, asking, "Your commands, my queen?"

"Knock it off, Beast Boy, not funny!" Raven almost shrieked, turning to Cyborg, who, she noticed, had not argued the point, "Cyborg, tell this dimwit that the smoke has burnt what's left of his brain!"

Cyborg scratched his chin, replying, "While that's probably true, what he said makes sense; Robin never does something for the heck of it. Alright, you take charge Raven; we'll be counting on you!"

Raven, seeing Starfire also nod in agreement, remained silent, too surprised by everyone's immediate acceptance of Beast Boy's silly words, their acceptance that just because she wore a stupid yellow cape she was now-

Raven stopped mid thought, an epiphany overwhelming her mind as she suddenly realized what Robin had done; the gift of the cape was no simple act, it was a planned and deliberate move on the young man's part. He knew that Raven would have a hard time convincing their friends to stay away, just as he knew that Beast Boy had never forgotten their old game; Robin had, yet again, trapped Raven, giving her this responsibility, knowing that his friends would turn their support to her immediately if he gave his blessing, and knowing that Raven would keep their attention to the problems at hand. He had engineered the perfect scheme, a guarantee that his friends would leave him to his fate and, in the case that he did perish, an heir to the Teen Titan legacy.

The empath swallowed, her mouth dry, before speaking, her voice hard, "I am only holding onto this damn cape until Robin gets back, understand? Do _not_ get comfortable with the idea that I'm now the team leader; I'm not." Her eyes were resolute, mouth thin, doing well to hide the pain she felt, "This is only temporary." When they nodded in agreement, Raven sighed, "Alright; Beast Boy, lead us to this building."


	5. Struggle

**Struggle**

Robin was unsure how long ago Raven had escaped, the young hero's attention fully focused on the wall of muscle before him; he knew, even with the drugs that enhanced his body and mind, that if he remained still, he was a dead man, so Robin never stopped moving. Dodging, rolling, twisting, jumping, running, Robin never paused in his attacks, minor they may be; still, the stings added up, Doomsday now sporting an angry red welt in the crook of his arm, shards of metal from birdarangs embedded deep into the monster's flesh. No longer just a tiny sting to the creature, Doomsday felt great irritation and even moderate pain from the ravaged wound; Robin never let Doomsday's natural healing abilities soothe the damage, a continuous, steady stream of weapons striking the welt with pin-point accuracy.

However, for every attack Robin landed, Doomsday returned the favor; Robin's body was covered in bruised and bloodied skin, and there were only two reasons why he had survived thus far. The fist was due to the drug that Robin had injected; the experimental and very dangerous drug shut down all pain receptors, in addition to enhancing all senses. Robin could feel no pain, and without his natural aversion to pain Robin's body did not have its usual limitations, allowing the hero to move faster and hit harder. Still, even without the feeling of pain, a direct blow from Doomsday could have easily torn the young man in two, if it wasn't for Robin's training, his mentor teaching him how to deflect and absorb blows; this training, combined with his quickened eyes and mind, kept Robin alive.

But the drug would not last long.

Even in the best test case, the effects of the drug only lasted, on average, around five minutes, sometimes a little longer; this gave Robin a short lived edge for the battle, the hero gambling with his life that his aid would arrive before the drug wore off. It was a desperate plan, an all or nothing risk, for if help took too long to arrive, Robin faced not only a near unstoppable monster, but the dangerous side effects of the tonic that was coursing through his veins. Robin could only hope that his help was in the Watchtower, or even somewhere on Earth.

Never before in his short life did Robin hope his luck would hold; even though he knew his chances of survival were slim, that he would most likely die this day, Robin stubbornly refused to despair, holding on within his heart that he would live to see tomorrow. Robin loved life, he fought to protect it every day when he donned his mask and uniform, and, while he held other's lives ahead of his own, he was quite happy living, with his life, his friends. There many more thing he wanted to do, many words he wanted to say, tell her what he felt, and he had regretted that he had sent her away from him before he could speak his peace; and even though he did not despair, some part of him, a feeling in his gut, an acceptance in his soul, told him that Robin would parish this day. It felt like fate, something Robin had never seen eye to eye, these circumstances that befell Jump, befell the Teen Titans. Thus he felt no fear when he had sent his friends away from him, when he turned to face Doomsday, as he tortured his body stalling the beast; Robin did not fear death, death that was trying its hardest to pulverize the young man.

Slipping away from a crushing hold, Doomsday's hand closing on nothing but air, where a second ago Robin's head was, Robin sprung forward, hurling his body into the monster, causing Doomsday to stagger back, unprepared for the force; removing one of his quickly depleting grenades, he left a present for Doomsday as he slid between his legs, turning quickly, not willing to leave his back exposed to the monster. Before Doomsday could turn, the grenade exploded, further agitating his already raw wound, causing a howl of pain from Doomsday. Already withdrawing another birdarang, Robin readied his arm, his eyes locked onto where his target, Doomsday's angry armpit, would be once the monster completed his turn.

That never happened, though.

With a sudden roar, Doomsday stomped the ground, causing an immediate upheaval of the dirt and dust at his feet, giving the monster a concealing cover; Robin, not expecting the tactical move, froze, peering intently into the smoke, waiting for Doomsday to emerge. Robin had made his first mistake, and lady luck, who had been such a fierce ally, abandoned the hero; seeing the movement too late, Robin was unable to dodge Doomsday's grasping hand, coming low, one of Robin's legs caught in Doomsday's steel grasp. The monster's fist clenched, crushing the leg, before Doomsday hurled the young hero head over heels, Robin twisting quickly to land, avoiding serious damage.

The boy wonder wasn't down for long, Robin rolling to a standing position, his arms to the ready; however, as he positioned his feet, he almost tumbled as he felt a sudden loss of balance. Glancing down to his damaged leg, he decided it was not broken, thankfully, but Doomsday's powerful grip had crushed the muscle and bone in his lower leg; the leg was still usable, but Robin's movement would be hampered by it. Shrugging, the only thing he could really do, Robin forced movement into the damaged limb, tumbling to the side, facing the monster; to his surprise, and concern, Doomsday had remained where he stood, not bothering to follow, or even face, the tossed hero. There was an odd, chilling sound coming from the still creature, causing Robin's skin to crawl, and his mouth to go dry.

Doomsday was laughing.

Chills ran down Robin's spine as he watched the creature chortle, its laughter soft at first, but growing in volume; something had changed. Gone was the madness from it's eyes, gone was his frothing mouth; there was a terrible intake of air before the monster spoke, its voice feeling like poison on the wind, "What great amusement you have been, human; even at this state you have lasted long after others would have perished." He paused, reaching a hand up to the red mark on his chest, his dark, soulless eyes glaring at his foe, "You have also wounded me, a feat few others could claim; it has been long since I've felt pain, human," his face angered, a sneer forming on its lips, "and this crime will not go unpunished. The Kryptonian was worthy as a foe, as brethren! Lesser creatures such as you have no place to harm me, a feat that was your greatest, and last!"

Robin, who would have usually replied in a sarcastic quip, had no time, Doomsday charging faster then Robin could blink; still, Robin moved just as fast, his arm twisting forward, his birdarang tearing through the air, digging deep into the open wound. Doomsday only grunted in response, closing the distance before Robin could slip away, throwing a right hook, Doomsday's massive fist moving fast; with surprising ease, Robin dodge the attack, twisting aside. When Doomsday's left hand clamped down onto Robin's forearm, the young man realized that the first attack was a bluff; Doomsday was no longer raging, fighting erratically and hastily. With a heave and sharp pull, Robin, his body flailing around in the air like a rag doll, heard a loud popping noise right before Doomsday released him, Robin airborne again.

Unable to correctly land, Robin's left arm completely lifeless and numb, the hero landed hard, rolling heavily on the charred ground; Doomsday had dislocated his arm, Robin quickly realized as he struggled to his feet, his arm hanging loosely. Thinking quick, Robin removed his last flash-bang, tossing the grenade into Doomsday's face; the monster, thinking he had the upper hand, did not expect the attack. He roared in fury as his eyesight was robbed, unable to locate the wounded human; Robin didn't hesitate, running a short distance away before he twisted, throwing himself onto the ground, forcing his arm back into socket. Even with the medication, Robin felt the pain from his reckless move; still, feeling rushed back into his fingers, and, although stiff, Robin could fight again.

It was just in time, too, as Doomsday, his eyesight returning, although still blurry, rushed forward, his hands trying to grasp the young hero; Robin dodged, his mind focused once more, digging into his belt for more grenades. To Robin's woe, no more small grenades remained within his compact containers; weaving between Doomsday's fists, Robin threw a few ineffective punches at the wound, doing nothing but bruising his own hands, before tumbling away. Cursing himself for not keeping better track of his inventory, he withdrew a handful of birdarangs instead, tossing them at the incoming monster; his aim was still true, and all hit their marks, some digging into Doomsday's wound, others acting as decoys, heading for the creature's face or torso.

Again, Doomsday replied with only a hiss, trying to keep the young human close, within range of his devastating blows; the seconds passed as Doomsday continued his relentless attacks, never letting Robin rest or retreat, the young hero unable to retaliate, too busy protecting himself. However, where Doomsday's stamina was infinite, Robin's began to wane; as the seconds turned to minutes, Robin was unable to fully dodge attacks, and more blows had to be deflected, the human tiring.

Robin knew it was bound to happen, and when it did, he wasn't surprised; breathing heavily, his body exhausted, a soft but steadily increasing sensation of pain surging through the hero, Robin was, finally, unable to deflect an attack. Twisting away from Doomsday's knee, he didn't notice the monsters fist in time; there was a sharp pain in Robin's side as one of Doomsday's long, jagged spikes tore into the hero's flesh. Grasping onto the flailing arm out of instinct, Robin used Doomsday's momentum to launch himself away from the monster; Robin spent little time in the air, unable to control his temporary escape, tumbling across the ground, leaving a red line of blood in his wake.

When Robin finally stopped, he could only turn over, the pain too great, the drug's effects wearing off at the most inopportune time; there was blood everywhere. Seeing Doomsday slowly approaching, a twisted grin on its face, Robin forced his hands to move, removing two small disks from one of his belt compartments; coughing up blood, swallowing his pain, and fear, and turning his gaze away from the approaching monster, Robin, applying subtle pressure to the disks, expanded them. Gritting his teeth as he watched one side of the disks glow red, Robin, quickly, pressed the one glowing disk on the entrance wound, one on the exit.

There was a hissing sound as Robin cauterized the wound, the young man unable to contain his scream of pain, the fire on his side tipping the scales as all of the earlier damage rushed to his nerves, Robin's body feeling like it was being torn apart; the emergency procedure done, Robin tossed the two disks aside, resting his head onto the ground, his eyes closing. For a moment, he felt like giving up, the pain too great, his body twitching as spasms overcame his muscles; the feeling lasted for only a moment, Robin forcing his body to move, turning over, and pushing himself up, facing Doomsday, determined to die on his feet.

The monster stopped only inches away from the swaying human, his body worn but eyes still defiant; Doomsday's arm snapped out, grasping the young hero around his throat, Robin's air supply limited, but not gone, lifting the human high, so the two were eye to eye. Robin's hands, tired as they were, immediately gripped onto Doomsday's arm, trying to alleviate his restrictive breath; Doomsday, breathing heavily, fatigued for the first time in many years, used his other hand to rip off Robin's mask, catching the human's pain-filled blue eyes into the blackness of his own, spitting out, "I applaud your efforts, insect; such fun I have not had for far too long. You have earned my mercy; your death will be quick. Any last words?"

Robin, dropping one hand, and reaching behind him, pulled out his last, and only, secret weapon; a phrase Doomsday had spoke buzzed in Robin's head as the fight concluded, a secret weakness that the monster gave away. Robin did carry it with him, he always carried it with him, if the worse had ever happened; in many respects, Robin, however much he wanted to deny it, was like his mentor, his guardian, Batman. Holding his hand in front of him, Robin exposed another grenade, slightly larger then the ones he'd used earlier; pressing the small button on the side of the explosive, he replied, his words raspy and weak, "Yea. Fuck you."

With a slight shrug, Robin tossed the small grenade right at Doomsday's armpit wound; at first, the hero wanted to throw it at Doomsday's face, but, last moment, chose the wound instead. It was the weakest link in the monster's armor, even if it wasn't in a vulnerable spot.

Doomsday, impressed with the human's defiance, casually looked at the blinking grenade that stuck to his wound, snorting, "More of this, human? You should know-" his words were cut off as he felt a sudden feeling of weakness surge from the small grenade. Turning his gaze to the explosive again, he studied it further, noticing that within its metal casing, there was a green glow. Alarmed, he could only shout, "What have you-!" before the grenade detonated.

The force of the blast tore Robin from Doomsday's grasp, hurling the wounded hero away from the monster; there was little smoke, however, the grenade not an ordinary concussion or fragmentation grenade. Using technology far advanced then readily available, the grenade used ionized particles, or plasma, as its fuel; extremely dangerous and deadly, there were few plasma weapons on earth, the origin of the technology otherworldly, influences left behind by alien visitors. The small weapon that Robin had used had another unique feature, something shared with only one other weapon on Earth, the grenade's sole relative safely secured within a secret compartment in an impenetrable fortress known as the Batcave; Kryptonite was the main ingredient of the plasma cocktail contained within the grenade. Robin would never agree with the weapon's initial purpose, to be used during a time that the unthinkable would happen, but he had made it a rule to always keep the weapon on him, lest it fall into other's hands.

Clued in by Doomsday's words, and playing on the hunch, it seemed that Doomsday did share some Kryptonian DNA, making the monster vulnerable to the rare space stone. Struggling to rise, Robin stared at Doomsday, the monster roaring with rage, hatred, and pain; the damage Doomsday had taken was devastating, the monster feeling great pain for the first time in centuries. Falling to a knee, Doomsday howled for many moments, his right hand clutching at where his left arm should have been, the appendage blown off by the explosion, the monster's wounded armpit weakened enough to be vulnerable to the attack; a few feet away from the monster, his left arm lay, twitching on the ground, its hand grasping at the air eerily. Black blood oozed from the shoulder gash, seeping between Doomsday's fingers, a bloody mass of bone, crystal, and muscle visibly pulsating underneath the monster's hand.

Robin, unable to rise, twisted on the ground, crawling away from the monster; he could no longer fight, no longer stand, and could barley breathe. Still, even if it took just a few more seconds for Doomsday to get to him, it was a few more seconds that the monster could not kill others. Long, agonizing moments passed, the hero inching away from Doomsday, when the monster's howls died; the hair on Robin's neck started to rise, warning him of danger, but Robin ignored it, continuing his crawl. A sudden shadow passed overhead, and before the wounded man Doomsday landed, the monster having jumped to reach his foe; looking instinctively, Robin noticed, with growing horror, Doomsday carrying his dismembered arm in his hand, his dark eyes driving fear into the human. Spitting out a glob of black blood, Doomsday spoke, his voice filled with rage, "Did you think that would _stop_ me, fool?" without breaking eye contact, Doomsday jammed the detached arm onto his bloody stump, Robin watching with terror as the skin started to knit back together, "You have _hurt_ me, mortal, harmed me _terribly_, and you are no longer worthy of my _mercy_!" The seconds dragged on forever as Doomsday's body repaired itself, only an angry mark shadowing where the wound used to be; flexing his arms, he bashed his two fists together, sending shards of crystal everywhere, some biting deep into Robin's skin. Cracking his knuckles, and holding his two, spike free fists before him, Doomsday snarled, "Your suffering will last for eternity, human, and you will _beg_ me for death!"

Stepping forward, he gripped Robin's head, pulling the hero up, snarling in his face, "Your judgment begins!"


	6. Arrival

**Arrival**

"Starfire, do you copy?"

With a short shriek, Starfire lurched in surprise, dropping a few feet in altitude as she flew, almost dropping the large chunk of building she was carrying, causing quite a few shouts of terror from the two score people held within the ruined structure; the Teen Titans had been on scene for many minutes now, each helping in their own way to evacuate the remaining people still trapped within the tilting skyscraper. Even with all the yelling and screaming, some people losing themselves in the chaos, the task started off rather smoothly; Beast Boy had turned himself into a tyrannosaurus to help support the collapsing building, as well as allowing nearby people to slide down his back into safety nets below. Cyborg took it upon himself to aid the firefighters, his body already resistant to heat and readily equipped with a breathing mask, rushing into the burning sections, emerging with a few soot-covered, or badly burnt, people clutched to him, only to return once he had given them to medics.

Raven had remained outside, using her magic to either smother fire, catch falling debris, or gently lift civilians out of the building, setting them into the awaiting arms of firefighters or loved ones; periodically the empath would pause, staring carefully to the east, where she had left Robin, worry and confusion clearly written on her face. As much as the empath hated it, she now recognized that Robin was correct in his assumptions and decisions; the Teen Titans were being worked hard, extremely hard, all four needed in their own ways to save lives. Without Beast Boy here, the building would have collapsed; without Starfire, dozens of people would have perished from smoke inhalation, trapped in the upper levels, ladders unable to reach them due to the fire and debris. Without Cyborg, who was able to reach the depths of the building that even the most protected firefighter couldn't, families would have been lost forever within the blaze; Raven wanted to poke a hole in Robin's logic, the boy wonder's statement that he wasn't needed, but as much as Raven hated to admit it, Robin wasn't. Yes, all of the young heroes wanted Robin with them, but Raven realized that Robin couldn't replace any of them, do the things that they had to do to save lives; she didn't want to rationalize her thoughts this way, cold and calculated, but it was true. Robin being here would have changed little, and one of the other Teen Titans being where Robin was… she didn't want to dwell on that, the doubt further troubling the initial reasons why her gaze had turned eastward.

So it turned out to be a relief for the empath when Starfire, who was making constant trips to and from the building, had noticed her fiend's lingering gaze and slight hesitance. Starfire had taken a moment to speak with Raven, asking the troubled woman what was wrong, and after a few moments of hesitation, the empath had responded that she couldn't sense Robin anymore, something that had shaken Raven's confidence. Starfire knew about the mental link between the two friends, having wheedled it out of Raven about a year or so ago, so it was no surprise that the young woman grew extremely concerned by Raven's statement, her eyes tearing up as she asked, begged, if Robin was alive; initially, when Raven had felt the link suddenly vanish, the empath had thought the same, her heart almost stopping, not even able to recall the last time the comforting presence of Robin was absent from her mind. She had forced herself not to draw conclusions, further probing the connection, investigating it, before she realized that the link was not gone, but blocked by something; Raven shared this information with Starfire, greatly relieving the alien princess, although, for both, their concerns still lingered, questioning what had caused this sudden block. Since then, Raven, able to share some of the burden that she was bearing, had moved quickly and efficiently.

"I repeat, Starfire, are you there?" came the voice again, snapping Starfire out of her sudden reverie, the sight of Raven bringing back the very recent memories.

Calling down to her chest, where she had adorned the pin, she replied, louder than what was really required, "Yes! One moment, please!" dropping quickly, she placed her heavy cargo onto the ground, idly noticing the chunk of steel and concrete being swarmed by rescue personnel, assisting the people inside out of the makeshift vessel. With a wave to the general public, she hovered in the air, catching Raven's eye, the only other friend close buy, beckoning her closer, and asking the pin, "Your leap was successful, yes?"

There was a muted snort from someone as the speaker replied, "Yes, the jump drive worked as expected and we are now docking with the Watchtower. We're heading to the Transport Bay, where we'll lock onto the pin's coordination's and port down. Just make sure you're in an open area, we don't have time for complications.

"Yes, alright!" said Starfire, quickly landing in an unoccupied area a short distance away from the building, Raven setting down next her, a curious look on her face. Starfire beamed, exclaiming, "Robin's aid has arrived! There will be docking at the tower that watches before joining us!"

Raven's eyebrow rose at her friend's statement, surprise in her voice, "Robin summoned the Justice League?" There was a slight frown on her face, "Perhaps I should leave, then…"

Starfire, confused, grasped onto Raven's hands, telling her, "No, you must stay with me to meet the League; I have not met anyone from the League before, but you have, yes? Please stay, most of the people are out of the building, and Cyborg and Beast Boy can handle the rest, for a few moments at least."

Raven shifted, but did not leave, muttering, "Yes… I've met some of them… I didn't depart on such good terms, however. Hopefully she will not show up…"

While in the past two years the five friends had gotten closer, some finally admitting to their birth names and backgrounds, including Robin showing the four the true face behind his mask, much of Raven's past was still secluded in mystery, so she had told none about her first, disastrous meeting with the Justice League before she had helped summon and form the Teen Titans. Raven did not want to face the magician again, the woman who was so against assisting the empath, but wasn't willing to leave Starfire's side either, and Starfire wasn't pressing the issue, so she remained, clutching Starfire's hand as the seconds ticked by, both waiting. Stressed and concerned, Raven ignored the faint headache that was starting to grow within her skull, absentmindedly rubbing her face as she tried to relieve the minor pain, thinking it nothing more then fatigue. However, the longer she stood there, the stronger the ache became, slowly spreading through her mind, her head becoming heavy and eyes strained. Feeling a sudden rush of weakness, she leaned into Starfire, who was looking concerned at her friend's sudden weight, the empath's breathing becoming quick, sweat starting to collect on her face.

Starfire asked what was wrong, but Raven ignored her, the empath's vision becoming blurry as her mind felt like it was being overcrowded with a fizzy static. As Starfire voiced her concern again the pin spoke, the speaker's voice a mixture of calmness and haste, "Starfire, we're at the Transport Bay; as soon as Mister Terrific calibrates-"

A long, drawn out scream cut off any other words from the speaker, Starfire immediately turning to Raven, who had suddenly collapsed onto the ground, clutching her head, the pressure within her mind becoming too much, causing her to scream in pain; there was not time to think, no time to process, there was just too much presence within her head. Starfire fell to her knees, gathering her writhing friend in her arms, trying to comfort the struggling woman, hearing someone speak from the pin, his voice tense, "Starfire! What's going on, who's screaming?"

Horrified by the sight of her friend trembling in pain, tears starting to form in the alien's eyes from the feeling of helplessness, Starfire stammered a reply, "I… R-raven's hurt! I don't know why! Raven!" she tried to call to her friend, whose eyes were clamped tight, Starfire able to see her corneas moving wildly.

"Remain calm, Starfire, we're on our way." The speaker said, his voice growing fainter as she heard him continue, "Terrific, get us down there!"

For Raven, with her mind overwhelmed, the pressure lessened somewhat, the empath realizing what was going on; it was emotions, a torrent of emotions were rushing into her, feelings of pain, sorrow, defiance. The link, the connection to Robin, had been restored, whatever had blocked it gone, and Raven could almost feel what her friend felt; while it was impossible for Raven to actually get the same sensations that Robin was, she could identify and faintly process the raw emotions he felt, and there were no pleasant emotions tearing into her. Still, as she now knew what was going on, she could control herself once again. Her spasms stopped, and she no longer cried out; long moments passed as she gathered herself, opening her eyes to stare into Starfire's green orbs, her friend clearly concerned. They didn't speak at first, the words on Starfire's face clear enough, prompting a reply from the exhausted empath, "I'm… I'm alright, Star. Just… need a few moments…"

Raven calmed herself, chanting her mantra softly, analyzing the sudden presence of Robin within her mind; the boy wonder felt distant, still, like he was intentionally blurring the connection, but he was there. He was alive. Raven sobbed in relief, not until this moment sure if her friend still lived; sitting up, and holding onto Starfire, she whispered, "It's back… he's alive…"

As she spoke, three bright glows formed around the duo, hovering about a foot off the ground; from these orbs of light, figures materialized, landing softly to the ground, causing many pauses from people around, all staring in awe at the trio who had appeared in their midst. Even for a city like Jump, who could proudly state they had their own team of super heroes, all were struck still as two of the most recognizable heroes of the world stood next to the two Teen Titans. Drawing everyone's eyes first was a tall man, with broad shoulders and a broad chin, dressed in the universally recognized blue and red suit, a proud "S" splayed across his massive chest. To the hero's right there was a beautiful woman with raven black hair, held back by a golden tiara, an alluring, form-fitting gold and red bodice hugging her body, a pair of silver bracers gleaming in the sun. Lastly, standing a few feet apart from the two, was a tall, green skinned man, clad only in blue shorts, two red straps crossing his chest, a large, billowing blue cloak on his back.

It was then, at this moment, with things finally looking up, the arrival of three League members bolstering everyone's morale, that catastrophe struck the empath; Raven, thinking herself in control of her emotions, was wrong, another surge of pressure flooding her skull, only much more intense then before. Robin's mental shield, the block he had formed to protect his friend from being influenced by his battle, had shattered, the boy wonder's mind abandoning all nonessential functions, trying to keep the young hero alive; for the first time, Raven felt physical pain through the bond, the empath drowning in the torrent of raw emotion, her head close to bursting. It was indescribable, and she would never be able to fully depict what she saw and felt, but one aspect was clear in the chaos, one emotion overwhelmed all others.

Death.

Raven could only cry out her anguish, wailing a drawn out, "Noooooo!" as she felt Robin's life dwindle, and the connection that linked her to him becoming weak. Thrashing, fighting the many hands that were trying to calm and subdue her, she screamed, her nails digging into a forearm, "He's killing him! No, God, no, he's killing him!"

The owner of the forearm that Raven gripped so tightly stared at the young woman with horror, knowing instinctively what her words meant, although he had no knowledge of the bond the two friends shared; tearing his eyes away from the mentally tormented woman, he found the gaze of the Martian hero, nodding once to the stoic alien, before removing Raven's grasp, bending slightly on his knees and shooting into the air. Superman, quickly surveying the area, was quickly able to hear, even sense, the location of Doomsday, and, with a minor sonic boom, he was gone.

J'onn, commonly called the Martian Manhunter, flicked his gaze to his remaining companion, telling the stunned woman, "Go, Diana, Superman will need your aid! This young empath's mind has been broken, and will be lost if I do not attend to it."

Wonder Woman nodded, replying softly, "Be careful, J'onn" before taking to the air herself, following in the wake of Earth's most powerful hero.

J'onn had only nodded with response, reaching his hands out slowly to cup Raven's face, needing contact if he was to delve into her mind; he was stalled for a moment by Starfire, who grasped one of his hands, her face wet with tears, visibly overcome by what had happened, asking the green alien, "What do you mean broken?"

He turned his gaze to her, pausing a moment before replying, "She has been overcome by her abilities, Koriand'r of Tamaran; she is still young and inexperienced, unable to handle the backlash she has suffered. I am going to enter her mind and repair the damage done; no more."

Starfire hesitated for a second, her hand tightening on his, pleading, "You… you won't hurt her, yes?"

A faint smile shadowed J'onn's face, "I will not hurt her, Koriand'r, but I can not promise she will not harm herself; I will wake her from her nightmare, though."

Starfire nodded, releasing his hands, and leaned back on her legs, her knees digging into the ground, watching the Martian's eyes glow as he cupped Raven's face, both becoming silent. As J'onn reached out to Raven, Starfire felt a hand grasp her shoulder; looking behind her, she saw Cyborg's face staring down at Raven, Beast Boy just a few feet off, both looking shell shocked, confused, and worried. Both had seen the League's appearance, drawn to the area like everyone else, and both had witnessed Raven's mental breakdown in horror, but only Cyborg had a faint idea of what was going on; Beast Boy, completely clueless, spoke quietly, his always warm and friendly voice now morose and weary, "Cy, Star… what's going on? What happened to Raven, and what did she mean?"

Starfire, her eyes filling with tears, could not reply, turning away from Beast Boy, holding onto Raven's hands as she wept; Cyborg sighed heavily, facing the distraught changeling, before revealing the truth.


	7. Despair

**Despair**

Superman was many things.

Selfless, noble, kind, empathetic, heroic; all could and would be used to describe the powerful hero, the man of steel, Earth's greatest champion. In many respects Superman, although not a native to the blue planet, encompassed all the good things an earthling could be; this was not to say, however, that he had experienced and felt the more negative aspects of the human condition. Even Superman was not immune to feelings of hatred, greed, envy, lust; hatred had plagued the hero for the longest, and even if the subjects of his wrath were deserving of it, to hate was one of mankind's ugliest emotions. However, his Ma had once told him, many years ago, that it was natural to feel these dark emotions, as long as they did not take hold of you, as long as they do not control you.

Superman was not perfect; he would often be the first to state so.

And at this moment, the man of steel was envious; 'faster than a speeding bullet' was one of the many slogans people would attach to him, and, even if it was true, Superman spent very little time actually moving at such speeds within a planet's atmosphere. Although he could move so fast he was barely visible to the naked eye, his own mind had not yet adapted to this deadly power; unable to process all the information that bombarded him when he hit top speeds, Superman reserved his superhuman quickness to the vast, emptiness of space, frightened of the consequences if he allowed this power, one he had not fully controlled, to be let loose.

It was at this moment that he desperately wished he had mastered this power, and he envied the people who had, the Flash family; they, before all others, could not only move faster than light itself, but comprehend, navigate, see at those incredible speeds. Perhaps it would have only taken a heartbeat, instead of the long seconds that passed as the man of steel flew over the decimated city of Jump, searching for his foe, searching for Robin. The heartbeats seemed to drag on endlessly as he traveled over the city, his eyes lingering on the dead and wounding littering the streets; an hour passed, or perhaps only a half minute, before Superman reached the epicenter, his eyes searching for the massive form of Doomsday, his ears taunted with grunts, shuffles, and cackles from the monster.

When Superman finally did spot the monster, the sight drove all rational thought from the powerful hero, righteous rage surging through the son of Krypton; Doomsday, carrying out his twisted judgment, was torturing Robin, gripping the seemingly lifeless hero around his neck, smashing the body into the ground, or tossing him into what few remaining structures that stood nearby, pausing in his cruel play to occasionally twist, pull, or rip at the human's flesh. Blood was everywhere, the red splashes of color bright on the scorched earth; Doomsday, who was carefully controlling his immeasurable strength to prolong Robin's suffering, didn't notice the presence of the Kryptonian, the sociopathic monster reveling in the pain he was inflicting on the dying mortal before him.

Doomsday would come to regret his vicious concentration however; dropping Robin to the ground, pressing his foot against the boy's chest, he cackled at the barely breathing human, reaching a hand down, grasping for Robin's twisted, broken left arm, "I think it's about time for some constructive changes, insect; this is just getting in the way of my fun, so why don't we-"

Doomsday never saw it coming; with a sudden crack in the air, Superman's fist collided with the monster's jaw, shattering it, the massive and powerful momentum from Superman's flight transferred to the monster, rocketing Doomsday through the air, the creature tumbling heavily across the ground. Superman wanted to follow through with his attack, chase down Doomsday, and beat the monster into a bloody pulp, but he forced himself to remain, staring down at the body of a young man, a young man he wouldn't have recognized as Robin if it wasn't for the tattered remains of a red shirt, a dirty, bloody 'R' still visible on the boy's chest; this body, Robin's body, was mangled and bleeding, with exposed bone protruding from an arm, his skin torn, chunks of flesh literally ripped away.

His head cloudy, his eyesight starting to blur with unshed tears, Superman stared for long moments at the motionless hero, an uncomfortable, painful feeling swelling within his heart; this… this was different then the other times, times when heroes had fallen in battle, or grievously wounded. He had felt sorrow when Virago, new to the Justice League, had been murdered by the assassin Onomatopoeia, and had wept when General Glory sacrificed himself so that others could escape the destruction of Tront, but this… this was different. Robin, Richard, was still a boy, a young man, not even in his twenties, yet Superman had known, fought beside, and respected Richard for over half a decade, ever since the young boy donned his Robin costume at the age of twelve, having more experience in this dangerous profession then most full time League members. But the youth or experience of Richard wasn't why the sight of his broken and bloody body affected Superman more so than anyone else to date; Superman, like many older heroes, took pride in the younger generation, the generation who would protect the future of the world, and out of all of these new heroes, Superman looked to Richard to lead them into this future. The young man possessed all the great qualities of his mentor, determination, intelligence, foresight, tactics, but had a natural ability to lead, to take charge, to rally, to draw people to him.

Superman clenched his fists, at first thinking Richard had succumbed to his wounds, the rushing of blood and rage drowning out his keen hearing; then he noticed something that calmed him, clearing his head. It was feint, almost undetectable, but Robin was breathing; he was still alive. It astounded Superman, feeling a mixture of pride at Richard's refusal to let go of life, and horror of the pain he must still be in. Kneeling down, reaching out his hand to check his pulse, he was further amazed when one of the boy's eyes twitched, slowly, agonizingly, opening.

For Robin, he could not even begin to describe the last few minutes of his life, Doomsday horribly efficient in his cruel undertaking, torturing Robin to the point of death, only to ease up, giving Robin's body time to recover, before starting again. Robin didn't know why he clung to life so stubbornly, the young hero honestly wishing for death a few times, the pain overcoming his determination; still, some part of him refused to give up, keeping his heart beating, waiting for his savior to arrive. Robin felt Superman's arrival, instinctively almost, and when he was released from Doomsday's sadistic grasp, Robin gathered up what little energy he had left to greet his hero, forcing an eye open, using the blood that had gathered in his mouth to wet his lips, speaking softly, painfully, "It's… about time… you got here…"

Robin looked up with his one still functioning eye into the astounded face of Superman, a faint grin twitching on the young hero's lip; Robin's job was done, he had succeeded, Jump city would be safe, his friends would be safe. Water formed in his lids, trailing down his dirty face, the young man no longer having to hold them back, choking out, his breath becoming labored, "…stalled him… kept him… away…" Robin's vision became cloudy with tears, his eyes twitching erratically for a moment before focusing on Superman, the great hero's figure blurry, Robin's eyesight becoming dim, "Safe…? Everyone's… safe?"

Superman, his jaw clenched, grinding his teeth, nodded, replying softly, "Yes, Robin, everyone's safe, they're all safe and sound; you've done your part, more then I could have ever asked for. Rest, Richard, rest now; I'm here." The man of steel didn't know what to do at first, quickly glancing in the direction that Doomsday crashed, knowing that the monster would be able to shake off his blow, and returning shortly. A sudden roar from the distance forced a decision on Superman that he was unwilling to make: engage Doomsday and leave Robin to die, or get the wounded hero to safety, allowing Doomsday to rampage. Rao blessed the son of Krypton, however, with the arrival of Diana, who landed softly next to Superman, gasping in horror at the sight of Robin's broken body. Elation, hope, washed over the powerful hero, who breathed, "Thank Rao," before turning to Wonder Woman, "Diana, see if you can get him to the Watchtower, or to a hospital; just get him the hell away from here while I deal with Doomsday!"

Diana, unable to turn her gaze away from Robin, the woman not having seen such brutality before, could only murmur, "Clark, I don't think there's enough time-"

Another roar cut off her words as the two spotted a large being leaping through the air, falling quickly in the duo's direction, Doomsday, having recovered from his tumble, returning to destroy his most hated foe. Superman, his face deadly grim, causing a shiver to run down Diana's spine, coolly used his heat vision to blast the falling monster, his beams so powerful that they halted Doomsday's decent, propelling the creature back into the air, turning the monster's attack against it. Without turning, keeping his lightly red-glowing eyes on the form of Doomsday, he spoke sharply, "Keep him alive Diana, by any means necessary, just keep him alive!" he paused, cracking his knuckles, his voice now cold, "Doomsday's mine!"

Without another word, Superman was gone, rocketing into the falling monster, loud cracks ripping through the air and powerful shockwaves rolling out from where the two entities collided. Diana dropped to her knees, hesitating, not knowing what to do, where to start; the Amazon princess had only the very basic medical training, like all of her sisters, and Robin's condition was far too advanced for the woman to handle. Aside from the obvious broken bones, Robin's left arm being the most severe, several breaks clearly visible, and bruised, damaged flesh, the most concerning thing Diana noticed was signs that Robin was going into cardiac arrest; his breathing was shallow and irregular, and his muscles, the ones that still worked, were starting to spasm. Not even knowing if his chest cavity could support or survive CPR, Diana faltered, whispering, "Hera, help me!"

Robin, after hearing that his friends were safe, has started to lose consciousness; his body crying for rest, his mind becoming dull from blood loss, the hero knowing that the dangerous aftermath of the drugs he had taken earlier had started. Yet before blackness consumed him, a soft, sudden burst of energy rushed into his body, Diana's request heard, clearing his head for just a moment, long enough for his vision to focus on the sorrowful face of Wonder Woman. For a moment, just a single heartbeat, Robin wondered if it was worth fighting for his life; his body was torn, his bones shattered, his organs damaged. Even if he did live through this, would it be worth it?

As fast as the thoughts came, they were gone; he wanted to live. Pushing the blood pooled within his mouth out, clearing it, Robin, feeling his legs twitching painfully, his heart fluttering, and lungs burning, opened his eye, catching Wonder Woman's gaze as she hovered over him, the Amazon's breath catching as he responded a moment after her plea; Robin spoke with great difficulty, using the given energy before it faded, "Diana… belt… eight…" his hand moved, slowly, like a twisted spider, climbing from where it lay to his belt, Diana's eyes locked onto the eerie movement, drawing her attention to the hand's action, as it lightly tapped the belt buckle and pointed to his left, "…belt… eight…"

That was all he could get out, his mouth filling with blood once more, his eyesight swimming yet again, his heart no longer bolstered by this mysterious energy; Diana, with her years of experience working beside Batman, caught on quick, her hands immediately counting eight capsules to her right from the center of Robin's belt, twisting the top of the container, and pulling out its contents. A small syringe, with a rather long, capped off needle, was the sole object within the belt compartment, a piece of paper wrapped snugly around the medical phial; pulling off the note, trying her best to remain calm, Robin's seizures getting more severe, she quickly unfolded the sheet, her eyes devouring the words she saw. At the top of the paper there was an extremely long word, with way too many letters and not nearly enough vowels, obviously the convoluted name of whatever drugs the syringe contained. Not having the time to think about pronouncing the word, she skipped it, skimming the page for the medicine's directions.

The directions were rather straight forward: the medicine was a counter-drug, antidote, to another unpronounceable medication, to be applied directly into the patient's heart. Confused, not knowing what either drugs were, she didn't hesitate trusting Robin's judgment, as she had always trusted Batman's, removing the stopper from the needle, holding down the convulsing man, and stabbing the syringe into his heart, injecting the medication. It took only a moment for Robin's seizures to stop, his heart no longer out of control, returning to its steady rhythm; this didn't calm Diana down, however, as he was still losing a lot of blood and his breathing was still shallow, a gurgling noise coming from his lungs.

The effect was instantaneous; the great weight that had so pressured Robin was lifted, his heart no longer struggling, the powerful muscle returning to its steady beat. The boy wonder was far from stupid, foolish perhaps, but no idiot; as he had been trained, Robin carried with him the antidote to the dangerous medicine he carried, if he did, in fact, survive the deadly tonic. With his still strong, but growing weak heartbeat ringing within his head, Robin was valiantly trying to remain conscious, even though his vision was becoming dark, and his hearing fading; he faintly felt Diana pinning something to his tattered shirt, leaning over him to speak into it, her hair lightly brushing his face.

Robin grinned, not really hearing Diana's voice as she spoke into the small communicator, her voice frantic as she gave her orders and attempted to keep Robin awake simultaneously; all Robin could do was smile. There was nothing more he could do, there were no more tricks up his sleeve, he had no more plans; he felt Diana's hand resting on his chest, the Amazonian telling Mister Terrific to lock onto his pin and verify transport possibility, and with a small movement, lightly grasped her fingers. This was the moment he had known of, the moment that he had realized when he had formed this desperate plan; this was his time of death. Feeling no fear, but instead a sort of loneliness, he held onto Wonder Woman's hands for comfort, the warm hand the last thing he felt as his consciousness left him; Diana's distressed words, begging him to stay with her, grew faint, a calm, black light and soundless static overcoming all senses.

Robin's grip went slack, and he knew no more.


	8. Consequence

**Consequence**

There were flashes of color and lights, and he felt moments where he was flying, or floating, or rocking; memories, distorted and confusing, surrounded him, and he was unable to tell if they were real or not; at first there was no noise, a complete silence accompanying the random images or sensations, then noise existed, sometimes in the form of static, a raspy sound, or beeps, clear and ominous. Later he could hear other things, names being called, voices of strangers hovering near him, over him, under him; sometimes they spoke softly, saying a single word, a name he could not recognize, and sometimes they were loud, frantic buzzing swirling around him. Feeling came next, for the longest time nothing, not able to tell if he had a body or if he was just a thought, an imagined spirit, but then he could sense touches, holding, lifting, wiping, sometimes soft and sometimes strong, but always gentle and careful. Smell was the last thing for him to understand, few things penetrating through his mind, blood and bleach burned into his nose. Even as all of he senses started to awaken, he never felt alone; since it started, he could always feel something with him, almost like a column within the empty space, something he could lean upon, a landmark within all the chaos, for, as time passed, everything started to swirl around, jumble up, confusing and frightening, before it all, suddenly stopped.

Beeping.

This was what he really heard first, as his mind awoke for the first time in many long days; slowly senses returned to him, controlled and voluntary, not chaotic and random. He could feel soft sheets covering his body, a plastic tube in his mouth, with more in his nostrils; he gradually felt feeling return to his face, his chest, his arms, his legs. Moving, ever so slightly, each finger and digit, he counted ten, his arms snug against his sides, both present. Continuing his exploration, he sent small twitches through his legs and feet, verifying that he was whole, accounted for; he knew no time, slowly climbing away from the abyss of unconsciousness, back into the land of the living. He was unsure how long he had lain there, twitching his body, waking his mind, before he felt someone approach his area, the light scratching from a pen on paper the only noise heard. With monumental effort, he opened his eyes, slowly blinking, his unused orbs sensitive to the light, hearing a gasp of, "Robin!" then the clunking of a clipboard falling to the ground.

The first thing he saw was the surprised and overwhelmed face of Cyborg, the man shocked motionless, staring at Robin, the boy wonder's medical chart forgotten on the floor as the cybernetic man's jaw hung open, trying to form words. Cyborg watched as Robin's eyes, cloudy with confusion, cleared, his gaze catching his; shuffling over to the bed-ridden hero, Cyborg, his single human eye misty, smiled brightly, "Thank God, you're awake!"

Robin grinned as much as he could with a tube down his throat, lifting his right arm weakly to vaguely point at the breathing apparatus; Cyborg nodded, telling his friend, "I'll get that out of you in just a minute, Dick, while I check your vitals." With quick movements Cyborg retrieved his dropped chart and pen, checking monitors and screens, scribbling down notes, before setting down his clipboard, saying, "Alright, let me tell him that you're up, and I'll get that tube outta ya."

Robin could only arch an eyebrow in confusion as Cyborg walked to a small communicator in the wall, pressing a key and speaking softy, "He's up," before joining Robin; it was then that the young man realized that he did not recognize this medical bay. Definitely not the Tower's small hospital, and with equipment far too advanced for any local or governmental emergency ward, Robin deduced, his mind enjoying the analytical activity, that he must be in the Watchtower; it could have only been one of two men Cyborg had summoned, then. Feeling slightly anxious, Robin squirmed as Cyborg removed the medical tape strapping the plastic tubing to him before extracting the extremely uncomfortable apparatus from the young man's throat. Feeling much better now that he could close his mouth and swallow, Robin wet his lips, giving his thanks.

Cyborg nodded, his grin faltering as he stood next to his friend, hesitating a moment before resting one of his cool hands on Robin's shoulder, speaking thickly, "You… you have no idea how much we missed you, bro. It's been hard, without you, hard to see you…" he paused for a moment, swallowing heavily, "You had us worried Dick, you were so… hurt… we could only hope…" he trailed off again, forcing a small grin back onto his lips, "You pulled through, you stubborn bastard, and you had the best the world could offer patching you up." He was silent for a moment, obviously controlling his emotions, before a true smile overcame is face, "Some big favors, or big bucks, were spent for you, man, to get those hot-shots up here, including my Dad from S.T.A.R Labs."

Robin, guessing easily who had provided the funding, wet his lips, his voice still weak, "S.T.A.R. Labs?"

Cyborg nodded, continuing his work, disposing of the breathing tubes, checking Robin's IV and drip chamber, muttering, "Saline bag needs to be changed; hold on." Striding away to one of the clean, metallic cabinets, Cyborg removed a saline IV bag from storage, returning to Robin to switch out his nearly depleted bag, before answering his friend's question, "Yea, S.T.A.R. Labs; we needed an expert, and my Dad is the best."

Even though Robin's mind was still foggy, he was still able to readily recall information on Silas Stone, Cyborg's father, and head cybernetic scientist of S.T.A.R. Labs; obviously, there was only one reason a cybernetic scientist would be needed. Feeling suddenly anxious, and slightly frightened, Robin tried to sit up more, ignoring Cyborg's cry of disapproval, lifting both his arms before his face, both feeling incredibly heavy, his left more so, and kicking back his sheets; relief, then confusion rushed through the recovering hero, as he could see no metal parts covering any part of his visible flesh, and there was a lot of flesh visible. Dressed only in boxers, white of course, Robin was able to view the state of his body, and a lump caught in his throat as his eyes roamed over what used to be a healthy, strong body. Muscles that used to be strong and lean were shadows of their former selves, atrophy decaying his body as he had lain motionless, recovering. His skin was nauseating to behold, a combination of ugly, yellow blotches where the bruising was still recovering clashing with the abnormally pale skin that had been grafted onto his body, replacing the flesh that had been torn from him.

Feeling self-conscious, Robin pulled the sheet over his legs and waist again, turning back to Cyborg, his voice hesitant, "Cyborg… how long have I been out?"

Cyborg scratched the back of his head, silent as Robin inspected himself, replying carefully, "A little over a month; thirty-three days, to be exact."

Cyborg's words hung heavy over the wounded man; over a month he had been sleeping, lain still, unmoving. His mind burst with activity as he immediately recalled all information he knew about muscle atrophy, numbers and percentiles flashing through his head before he forced it away, the information giving him a headache; in short, by his best approximation, he had lost probably a fifth, or even a quarter, of his muscle mass and strength, and the month of inactivity would require over four times the amount just to get him strong enough to just walk on his own. Hell, to get his body back into the condition it was before his coma, it could take up t a year of recovery; shaking away the morose thoughts, Robin, glancing again at his much smaller frame, asked, "Alright… I've been out for a month… but why S.T.A.R. Labs?"

Cyborg gave a small grin, pointing to Robin's left arm, "That's why; your arm was so mangled, we thought we'd have to remove it. All of your large bones, the radius, ulna, and humerus, were in so many pieces that we couldn't splint them together. That's where my dad came in, and why we put you in a coma; the surgery lasted twenty two hours, but my pa was able to graft some metal bones into your body, saving the arm." Cyborg's grin widened, pride in his father clearly seen on his face.

Robin, lifting his left arm and gazing at it, moved his fingers slowly, twisting his wrist; there was a difference, a change in weight, the movements less smooth and unfamiliar, a deep ache within the entire arm. With his other hand, he lightly touched the arm, feeling warm flesh, the skin tender; letting his arms drop, he closed his eyes, breathing deep. He was surprised, and relieved; Robin didn't think the arm could have been saved, as memories of the last, horrifying moments he could fully recall resurfaced, remembering the condition of the arm. His musings were brought to a halt by Cyborg, as the large man coughed, speaking jovially, "C'mon Dick, no more dozing, I'm sure you've had enough of that; besides, you're going to have yourself a busy day. There are lots of folk who will want to see you."

Robin nodded, slightly, asking softly, "Um… where are…"

Cyborg cut him off, knowing what his friend was going to say, "I'm going to get them, Robin, they're all here in the Watchtower, waiting; if you had woken up fifteen minutes ago, Starfire's face would have been the first you've seen." He grinned, "I'm sure you would have appreciated her lovely face over my ugly mug, eh?" he gave a good-natured chuckle as Robin grinned in return, turning and calling behind his back, "I'll be back."

Watching Cyborg leave, Robin laid back into his bed, his gaze turning to the room around him, his eyes wandering, trying to prepare himself for whom he thought would next enter the room; long seconds passed, Robin's gaze finally catching something of interest. Folded neatly on a shelf next to the bed lay his uniform, the clothing clean and new, obviously retrieved from his room, a recently cleaned belt laid on top, still bearing some marks from his battle, capsules open yet to be refilled; it felt strange yet comforting that someone had retrieved his belt, his hand reaching out to touch it lightly. As soon as his hand had touched the cool metal, a sudden, uncomfortable feeling jolted him, and he jerked his hand away, frowning; that was odd. The belt didn't seem… right. Before he could further ponder this new feeling, the door opened again, Robin turning his gaze instinctively to the person entering, trying to organize his thoughts. What he was going to say died on his lips, however, as a person he did not expect entered his room; pausing at the door, he looked tired, but in high spirits, a grin on his face. Taking a few steps forward, the man of steel spoke, his words warm, "Welcome back."

Robin only nodded in reply, asking, "Doomsday? What of Jump?"

Superman grinned, shaking his head slowly, chuckling; he was his father's son. Turning his gaze to the young man, he replied, "Of course; Doomsday has been subdued, banished yet again to the Phantom Zone. The Green Lantern Corp have graciously offered to post guards around the gateway to prevent, or at least warn, of other escape attempts." He paused, "We're still not sure how he escaped, but the Corp are investigating."

Robin nodded, asking again, "Jump?"

"Rebuilding and mourning," said Superman, simply, "It would take more then a meteor strike to destroy the people of Jump City."

Robin paused, looking away from Superman, asking, "How many?"

There was hesitance in Superman's voice as he tried to dodge the question, "Richard, you know that this was out of your hands, and could do nothing to stop-"

"How many?" Robin asked again, his voice firm.

Another pause, before, "There's no real way to tell, but the official report claims over seven thousand dead."

Robin nodded, once, remaining silent for a few seconds, then asking, "Bruce?"

Superman shifted, knowing of the strain between Batman and Robin, a little uncomfortable, "He's been here a few times, either checking your vitals or speaking with one of the three doctors that have been overseeing you, Leslie, Pieter, or Michael." He paused for a moment, trying to gather his words, "You know Bruce; the less he says the more he cares."

Robin nodded again, turning his gaze back to the powerful hero, a small smile shadowing his face, "Thanks. For… you know… getting there in time."

Superman shook his head, "I should be thanking you; I don't now what you did to him, but Doomsday didn't put up a long fight after I got there." Reaching his bedside, he gently rested his hand on Robin's shoulder, "Don't dwell on those who died, Richard; without you, tenfold more would have perished if you hadn't made your decision, as hard as it may have been." His voice was solemn, "You knew it was a fight you couldn't win, yet you fought it; you lived, Richard, something, sadly, that few could say when facing Doomsday. I'm proud of you."

The older hero smiled, patting Robin before turning to leave, waving his goodbye, "I'll stop by later, once the chaos has died down a bit. I do think I've used up my seniority privilege by seeing you first and keeping you to myself."

Robin grinned as he watched Superman open the door, about to leave; however, before the great man could step outside the door, he was nearly bowled over by a streak of red, a loud cry of, "Robin!" wailing from the culprit, Starfire bursting through the door, leaping upon the bedridden hero, clutching him tight, bursting into tears. Just as Superman regained his balance, he was pushed aside again by a green skinned teen, Beast Boy voicing his objection that Starfire got there first, yelling, "Hey, give him some air, Star! I want to yell at him before he blacks out again!" The man of steel shook his head as he watched Robin greet the energetic changeling, turning yet again to leave, another body blocking the way, only this one was more polite, calmly stepping aside for the older man, nodding her head lightly, her face covered by her hood. Superman wasn't fooled; he knew that Raven was just as overjoyed at Robin's recovery as the rest of her friends, but remained silent, thanking the young empath, and nodding to Cyborg, who stood close by, waiting his turn to enter the room again, before giving the five their privacy.

Robin, a sincere smile plastered on his face, didn't bother trying to explain his actions to Beast Boy, his young friend berating him one moment then expressing his relief and joy the next; Robin just nodded absently as he held the weeping Starfire, using his hand to gently rub her back. As his bedsides were already occupied, Raven, her face calm, almost unusually so, a faint smile on her lips, stood near Starfire, her gaze caught by Robin's, sharing her feelings of relief and happiness through their bond, feeling the same care and joy from her recovering friend. All but Beast Boy remained silent for a while, Cyborg having taken a seat in one of the chairs in the room, the green changeling's mouth running nonstop, although his voice was quieter then normal, respecting Robin's sensitivity to noise, and Starfire, who's muffled sobs continued; Starfire did eventually calm down, her tears spent, tears of sorrow and joy, detaching herself from Robin, leaving a mess of tears and snot on her friend's shoulder, causing Beast Boy to theatrically gag, the alien princess blushing at the mess she made, looking about for something with which to clean Robin.

Gliding past the searching woman, a clean towel in her hands, Raven, showing great care, gently wiped up the mess, dropping her gaze from Robin, her face controlled, emotionless, but somehow soft, drawing curious stares from her friends, which she ignored, concentrating on her work. The simple act, of Raven showing such tenderness, quieted the never-ending sound from Beast Boy's mouth, silence hanging in the air; finished, Raven started to pull away, her head rushing, but was prevented by Robin's hand, slithering out of Beast Boy's grasp to hold hers, not caring about the mess, preventing her from retreating, drawing her gaze up to his. He spoke softly, simply, "Thank you." There was a pause, Raven shrugging, before he continued, "For being there, in my mind, while I was sleeping; thank you for giving me your support. It helped."

Raven swallowed, her breath quickening as she forced herself to remain calm, attempting to break free from Robin's gaze, but unable too, his dark, blue eyes capturing her gaze. The shield she had so carefully constructed around her was starting to crack as she fell into Robin's deep, piercing gaze; she had always been taught that expressing her emotions were a form of weakness, that she must remain stoic and strong, but the longer she was held captive by Robin, the more she questioned her lessons. It was when Robin spoke, his words exceedingly kind, full of care and understanding, when her wall broke.

"It's ok, Raven, everything's ok know; let it go, you don't have to hold it in anymore, we're your friends, and we're here for you."

To everyone's surprise, Raven, who had remained too calm and too controlled throughout this ordeal, where the others would express their sorrows and worries, completely broke down. Richard, able to sense her repressed emotions, coaxed her out of the shell she had built with his heartfelt words, and, falling to her knees, her head pressed into the bed, her forehead resting upon Robin's side, her hands tightly gripping his bed sheets like a lifeline, she surrendered to her emotions, expressing a months worth of worry, fear, anxiety, and sorrow, bawling into his sheets. The room remained silent as Raven grieved, Beast Boy and Cyborg averting their eyes, giving her what privacy they could, Starfire watching her friend with loving, tearful eyes, Robin gently stroking her hair as she wailed into the bed. The feelings were overwhelming, the release was life changing, Raven realizing now, when she finally embraced this sorrow, when she understood that her friends cared for her, when she realized how much she cared for Richard, that these emotions, that allowing herself to feel them, was not a weaknesses. Allowing herself to feel is what made her human, what made her strong; many minutes passed before Raven quieted, embarrassed by her display, yet feeling lighter, her heart no longer heavy. Blushing, and using a part of the sheet offered by Robin, she cleaned herself before standing, starting to apologize before being quickly hushed by Starfire, the taller woman pulling Raven into a warm, long hug, effectively silencing the empath.

There were a few more minutes of silence, Cyborg standing to change Robin's sheets, the young leader blushing at his lack of clothing, Beast Boy not helping as he pointed out all the bruises on Robin's legs, commenting how one looked like a bunny, another like a sailboat, Starfire eyeing them critically, stating she saw no such thing, although one did closely resemble a Dkel'tront, whatever that was. The two's musings were silenced by Cyborg, who deftly replaced the sheet, Robin, his cheeks red, asked what he had missed. He wasn't sure how much time passed as the five, settling around him, Raven taking a seat near Cyborg, Beast Boy setting himself down at the foot of the bed, while Starfire remained standing, constantly touching or petting Robin in reassurance that he was real, talking of what they had done in the time he was sleeping.

Like Superman said, Jump City was being rebuilt, the four spending their time split between staying in the Watchtower and helping where they could in their city; granted a rare honor, they were all given League pins, allowing use of the Watchtower's powerful teleportation devices, as well as some living quarters within the space station. When asked about crime within the city, Beast Boy, his voice awed, had explained that Superman himself was making constant and very public appearances in Jump, causing the crime rate to effectively disappear, not even the lowest purse-snatcher wanting to risk a confrontation with the man of steel.

With the powerful hero's presence in the city, and little crime needing to be fought, the four young heroes were able to spend more time within the Watchtower then out, mingling with the heroes of the Justice League, amazed by the massive scope of the powerful group. Most of the members were nothing but polite with the younger heroes, many having heard of the team, escorting them around the station, asking questions about themselves and their leader; the Teen Titans were startled by the amount of heroes who knew Robin, the older Leaguers in particular, folk as well known as Green Lantern and Hawkgirl to lesser known like the Question and Stargirl, all entering his medical room at some point to check his condition or offer words of hope. When asked how he knew so many League members, Robin just shrugged, reminding everyone who his name was tagged onto, Batman being one of the founding members of the League, and, in a lot of cases, wherever the Batman went, Robin was close bye.

After he was brought up to date of what was happening now, he, quietly, asked about the immediate aftermath of Doomsday's attack; this was more a more solemn discussion, everyone's laughs dying off as they told him how Raven's magic had gone haywire when Robin's life was in danger, the empath falling unconscious for a day while the Martian Manhunter delved into her mind, repairing the damage that had been inflicted. There had been a positive outcome of the ordeal, however; due to the similarities that the two shared, their dry humor and mental powers, the two had formed a rather close bond during the past month, Raven seeing J'onn as a sort of mentor and teacher, the green alien educating the empath, enhancing her mental capabilities, and the fact that Raven had made a new friend put a small smile on Robin's face.

None of the teens had seen the final fight between Superman and Doomsday, although they did hear it, the sounds from the clash reaching even their ears; it was not real long after Superman left the group, less then an hour, probably half that, when he returned, his uniform dirty and torn, his body roughed up, but in rather good health, all things considered. His passenger did not luck out so well, the Teen Titans looking upon the unconscious form of Doomsday, the monster beaten thoroughly, his crystalline armor shattered and bones broken. After the man of steel informed the young heroes that Robin had been transported to the Watchtower, and providing little other information aside that Robin still lived, the powerful hero left with is captive, rising steadily into the air. The people of Jump witnessed a rare spectacle as dozens of the Green Lantern Corp members swarmed the sky above the ruined city, surrounding the beaten monster with layers of green force fields, escorting the two out of Earth's atmosphere.

Otherwise, there was little else of importance that the recovering man missed; as Beast Boy started telling tall tales of his adventures and wanderings through the Watchtower, Cyborg, moving next to the recovering man to be better heard, spoke below the gibbering changeling, flushing out the month with minor details that the large man knew Robin would want to know, such as the medications he was given, details about his operation, and who had visited the room for reasons other then social calls. Both Cyborg and Beast Boy were mid sentence, everyone ignoring the green teen, not that Beast Boy minded, the hyperactive man caught up in his own story, when the bay doors opened with a small hiss, everyone staring at who had entered, a chill breeze drifting through the air.

Three figures stepped through the door, all easily recognizable, two with smiles, one without, the grim man being the first through the door, his cold presence silencing the room. Without even acknowledging the young heroes who crowded the bed or chairs, Batman, his eyes narrow and lips thin, approached the bed, Beast Boy and Cyborg both retreating from the imposing man, the two in Batman's way, the dark knight's presence clearing the area around Robin's bedside. Silence hung in the air as the mentor and student stared at the other, Robin having, gently, pushed Starfire, and her warm hand, away, leaving Robin facing Batman alone, the wounded man sitting straighter as he returned Batman's glare. The older hero, ignoring Superman's and Wonder Woman's words of greeting to the other Teen Titans, focusing solely on his young ward, said nothing for a few moments, observing Robin, his young partner returning the observations.

Robin could only wait, knowing Batman had to speak first; the tension in the air was palpable, the strain between the two heroes relationship clearly visible to everyone else in the room, neither acting as one would have expected if this was a normal family, a son waking from a long coma, the father there to express his relief and joy. Instead of what should have been a tender moment, the two just glared at one another, the silence dragging, heavy. Finally, Batman spoke, his voice harsh, cold, "I can't do this anymore; I've accepted your relocation to Jump city, I've allowed you to play leader with this group of teens. I've tolerated your absence from Gotham, and permitted your disregard to my orders, my command. No more."

Robin didn't flinch from Batman's words, hearing the anger in his voice, seeing the disappointment in his face; but there was something else that lay, almost hidden, in his words.

The imposing hero leaned forward, ignoring all the other people in the room, his voice bitter, "What you did was beyond reckless, Robin! It was foolishness on such a scope I don't have words to describe it; you never risk yourself if there are other options! There were a hundred other ways to approach that scenario, seventeen well within your capabilities, ones I know I've taught you that could have been viable tactics!" He paused, breathing deep, controlling his anger.

"Yes…" Robin replied, softly, his gaze still locked with Batman's, "and ten would have allowed Doomsday to spread his destruction, five would have resulted in more casualties, deemed 'acceptable losses', and one…" he paused for a moment, his gaze tearing away from his mentors to rest upon Starfire before returning to the dark knight's, "…one I wouldn't risk."

Batman's face was cold, but not more so then his voice, "The Tamaranean's physique is more than capable-"

"One I would not risk," Robin repeated, his voice frosty, "So I chose the one that would risk the _least_. Myself."

Batman clenched his fists, his gloves creaking, gritting his jaw, expressing the most anger his two colleagues had ever seen, the dark knight normally very controlled of his emotions; with a deliberately cool voice, Batman spoke, "And here is where our methodologies differ, Robin. I can't partner with someone who does not see eye to eye with me, who abandons his priorities for other responsibilities."

There was a heavy pause, "You're fired."

A small part of him had expected something like this, had accepted that this might happened one day, the rift that was torn between the two too great, without either attempting to repair the gap; still, Robin, Richard, felt like he had be punched in the gut, ignoring cries of disbelief from the heroes around him.

"What!" exclaimed Cyborg and Beast Boy, both stepping forward, not believing the dark knight's words.

"No!" cried Starfire, her hands covering her lips in shock, turning to Raven in confusion and worry, the empath only sparing the alien princess a glance as she watched Robin carefully, startled that she felt nothing from their link.

Superman only frowned, staring at Batman, not understanding his friend's reasoning or actions, but knowing it was not his place to question, not yet at least.

Diana, not caring about the man's pride, gently gripped Batman's shoulder, asking quietly, "Bruce, I don't think-" but her words were cut off by the dark knight, who abruptly shrugged her grip away, ignoring the woman's pained look.

This was between mentor and student, father and son, and both drowned out the sounds around them, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Starfire, and even Diana starting to speak up, asking questions, demanding answers.

All were silenced by Richard, who spoke clearly, "Understood."

Although Batman did his best to hide it, Richard could still hear it, the fear that was in his voice, which was on his face; Bruce's fear for his ward, edged with regret of the path Bruce had lead him on. Richard knew what had prompted this declaration, his dismissal, having realized early on that Batman had blamed himself for every wound Robin would take; this was not he first time his life had been in danger either, and only passionate words and infallible logic had kept Richard as Robin, but this time was different. There were many things that made up Richard's mind, the fear of never growing out of Batman's shadow, the hatred for being the tagline of 'Batman and…', the need to become his own man; however, what had made this change to be easily accepted by Richard was a moment he had a few hours ago, when he had first woken from his long sleep, his fingers making contact with his belt.

Richard felt, deeply, and was certain of it, more confident in this realization then any that had come before, the he no longer _needed _to be Robin.

Robin was dependent on Batman, Robin was the sidekick and jokester, Robin was the follower.

Richard was no longer dependent on Batman, no longer a sidekick, but a battle-tested, experienced hero in his own right.

Richard was no longer a follower.

Richard was a leader.

Richard was no longer Robin, he _couldn't_ be Robin anymore.

What could he be?

Richard set aside that question, the words echoing within his head, even reaching Raven who looked at her friend with a mixture of concern and curiosity; turning stiffly, shaking his head to Starfire as she approached to help him, Richard gently, almost reverently, picked up his Robin uniform, offering it to Batman, the older hero's face suddenly cracking, sagging, sorrowful, before becoming grim once again, taking the offered uniform. Turning sharply, avoiding Diana's piercing eyes, he hesitated for a moment, quietly saying, "Welcome back; I'm… happy," before exiting the room.

Wonder Woman, her eyes wet, took a few quick steps forward, kissing Richard lightly on the forehead, expressing her joy at him waking, before following in Batman's wake, having words she must share with the gruff man. Superman lingered for a few moments as well, before telling the young man, "Regardless if you wear a uniform or not, you're always welcome here, Richard. Stay as long as you need to."

With Superman gone, the five teens remained still, silent, not knowing what to do or say. It was Beast Boy who broke the silence, his voice sounding small, asking, "What do we do now, R-… Dick?"

Richard didn't immediately answer, his gaze turning to the faces of his friends, all looking shell shocked, even Raven, Starfire starting to cry again, silent tears staining her face; sighing heavily, he replied to the green changeling, "The Teen Titan's live on, and return to Jump, to protect their city."

"Actually," Cyborg spoke, a small smile on his face, "We're just the Titan's now; kinda happened while you were out."

Richard grinned, "I like it."

"You… you will be coming with us, yes?" Starfire pleaded.

There was another pause, Richard's eyes never leaving Starfire's, as he thought, slowly shaking his head, "No… not right now… perhaps not for a while…" His gaze silenced Beast Boy, who was about to speak, telling his friends, "I'm… my body's weak right now… I'm in no condition to be a hero, to lead and fight along side you… I don't even know who I am anymore…"

"You're our friend!" Raven said, her voice fierce, stepping forward, resting her hand on his, "…And we care for you."

A warm smile split his face, his blue eyes catching her breath, "Yes… and that means the world to me. But…" his gaze turned, looking out the medical room's window, into space, speaking softly, "I need to find myself, discover who I am… what I'm meant to be, who I'm meant to be." Turning his gaze back to his friends, he smiled softly, "When I do… I'll come back."


	9. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

The weeks passed slowly for Richard, the recovering man having spent his days within a simple, but comfortable room, having been moved out of the medical bay a few days after he had awoken. His body was still weak, having just started his physical therapy, but he no longer survived on liquids, and he rather enjoying the feeling of solid food in his stomach. Still, even though he kept himself busy, working his muscles or mind, he was restless, waiting for the day he could stand on his own two feet, the day he would leave the Watchtower. He was still unsure where he would go, but he had confidence that he would figure it out.

While the Watchtower housed hundreds of people, heroes and civilians alike, he got rather lonely; the daily visits from one of the doctors overseeing him lasted only a few short hours, and, while he was visited by a few of the heroes stationed within the Watchtower, those who knew his civilian identity, the company was short, the life of a Leaguer busy, and few could relate to the wounded man, unsure what to say or do, besides ask the obvious questions after a simple greeting. Surprisingly, or perhaps not, Hawkgirl was one of the few who remained longer then a few moments, whenever she was able; it was odd to Richard, in the beginning, as she wouldn't speak much, just give her greetings and take a seat in his room, either watching him or pulling out a book to read. When he finally asked, as politely as he could, why she just hung out in his room, she told him that she knew how it felt.

"How what feels?" replied Richard curtly, doubtful that she had woken up from a near-death coma before.

"How it feels to loose one's self." She said calmly.

It then made sense to the recovering man; with gentle prodding, Richard was able to coax Shayera to speak of when she had given up her life of crime-fighting after the invasion, of how she had spent many months in seclusion, questioning herself and her actions. The greatest thing Shayera did, however, was share this part about her without asking for anything in return, not once prodding the young man about his own destiny, or future. Richard came to enjoy her company, even if most of the time there was nothing but comfortable silence when she visited.

Besides the Thanagarian's long, but rare, visits, the only other person to keep in steady contact with Richard was Alfred, the gentlemanly butler who the young man considered to be his grandfather in all but name, who would either speak with the young man over a video phone or, using his master's teleportation gate, visit his younger ward, often bringing gifts of Richard's favorite foods. Richard was content with these two reliable presences, for they made the ache of the absence of his friends less heavy within his heart.

It wasn't long after he had been moved to his new quarters that the Titans left the Watchtower, for good; Superman's visits to Jump, the city still rebuilding, could no longer keep criminals at bay, and the city's protectors were needed once again. The farewells were tearful, with many hugs and promises to keep in touch, but contact with his friends were far and few between; Richard understood, he knew how busy it would be down there, so he felt no anger or disappointment at the lack of communication.

So, relatively alone, and with little to occupy his time, he pondered and thought, his questions echoing within his head, not even heard by Raven, the connection the two shared dimmed by the great distance that separated them, so faint Richard could only vaguely sense the empath. So the day's ticked buy, Richard, stubbornly if he must admit, unwilling to express the turmoil within his head and heart, of the small doubt that shadowed over the man. While both of his companions had offered their ears for when Richard was ready to speak, it was the unexpected arrival of a new guest that finally got the young man to talk.

The day had started out just like all the rest, Richard waking early, according to the digital clock by his bedside, as it was quite difficult to tell time in space; he had done his morning routine, stretches and rotations, starting to bring life back into his thin limbs, focusing primarily on his left, heavier arm more than his right, before breakfast was brought to him by one of the medial aids, an elderly woman by the name of Martha, who fussed over the young man before leaving him to enjoy his meal. While Richard could support himself, he still had difficulty walking, and was advised against going to the mess hall for meals, and Richard didn't argue; he knew the limitations of his body, and was humble enough to know when to take it easy and follow orders.

After a long shower, the warm water soothing to the young man's still blotched flesh, Richard powered on the small computer within his quarters, and, after checking his email, a daily habit for all people his age, he turned on some music, classical today, and settled into the large armchair in the corner of the room, often occupied by Shayera when she visited, opening up the novel he had started. It was a mystery thriller, and Richard was enjoying the book, resisting the urge to figure out the killer on his own, but the story still provided plenty of mental activity to occupy his time. He was mid-chapter, and at a rather good spot too, when a light knocking on his door pulled his attention away from the book; surprised, as he knew neither Shayera or Alfred were able to visit today, he placed a thumb in the book, calling, "It's open!"

With a small hiss the door parted, and a man that Richard had not seen in weeks ducked into the room; dressed in simple slacks and a black shirt, Superman stood a step within the doorway, casually glancing around the room through his spectacles, his gaze resting on Richard and the book clutched in his hands. With a smile, he said, "Of course it's a mystery novel, why does this not surprise me?"

Richard grinned, reaching for his bookmark and placing down his story, replying, "Because you know I can't resist a good puzzle, Superman; what brings you here this morning? I wasn't expecting anyone until lunch."

The man of steel grinned, gesturing to his outfit, saying, "As you can tell from my clothes, I'm of duty, so it's just 'Clark', if you'd please." After a quick nod from Richard, the young man's eyes cheerful, Clark answered his question, settling himself in one of the other armchairs, "I've been meaning to visit you sooner, but..." the older man shrugged, and Richard smiled in understanding, "you know, busy times. However, I do have a few hours before i meet Louis for a date, so," he spread his hands, "here I am."

"Thank you, Clark." Richard said, his voice warm, happy to have the older man's company, as, being the most powerful and recognized hero of the world, Clark's visits were less common then Bruce's; the thought caused his face to sour for a moment, and the Kryptonian noticed, clearing his throat to grab Richard's attention.

"Besides to check on my favorite, unofficial nephew, I wanted to ask…" his voice was kind, but serious, "are you ready to talk about it?"

Richard gave a deep sigh after remaining silent for a few moments; he knew, instinctively, that Clark was not speaking of his recovery, but of his dismissal, and, looking into the face of the man who was the closest thing to an uncle Richard had, he found himself speaking, "It was… well… I knew it was coming, some day, I think we both knew it was inevitable." He frowned, "Still…it hurt more then I thought it would… I suppose it was harsh, the way he did it, when he did, but…" he shrugged, averting his eyes, keeping his voice calm, "I… know he did it because he cared, cares for me. I don't hate him, I can't hate him, he's my…" he cut off, swallowing, "It was the right thing to do, he did the right thing for both of us, and I'm ok with it." He turned his gaze back to Clark, his face firm, "I'm ok."

The older man nodded, slowly, believing the young man, thinking that, perhaps, the rift between the two would now, in time, close, "So… what now?"

Richard hesitated for a moment, "Honestly… I don't know." He shook his head, frowning at himself, flashes of memories resurfacing, "I feel…" he scrounged for a word, unable to find one and settled for, "…odd."

Clark raised an eyebrow, "Odd?"

There was a light blush from the younger man, "I can't really explain it. I should feel… lost, but I don't…"

"Really?" the elder man asked, surprised, "I know that I would, given your situation." He paused, than asked, "Why aren't you?"

Richard paused, thinking, remembering, and spoke, "When… when I first saw him… saw Doomsday rising up out of that crater… I was so frightened, terrified… I didn't know what to do, how to handle it, but…" he shifted, "seeing them, my friends, my family, it kicked-started my brain and… I had a choice." His gaze locked into Clarks, "I chose to sacrifice myself, I told myself that I was going to die… and then… I accepted it. Even though I had so many things left to do, even though," color shadowed his face, "I never told her how I felt, I accepted my choice. It was then, when I allowed that reality, truly admitted my fate, that I knew no fear. It was as if… as if God, or the Gods, or... _whatever_, had waited for me to grasp this destiny, as if they had thrown that monster in my path for this purpose. It was then that I _knew_ I would die, without a doubt; I _knew_ that I would not live to see the day after."

There was a moment of silence as Richard's mind whirred, "And… and it came true. Robin, the part of me that was Robin, did die that day. I think it was when I relinquished my uniform, something that was so _difficult_, yet at the same time felt instinctively _right_, that I realized that I wasn't just Robin, like Bruce is Batman, but that Robin was just a stage in my life, and this is my metamorphosis." His voice became strong, "I don't feel lost because I'm still Richard, and that is who I will always be. But…"

"But you feel incomplete, like something's missing," Clark finished wisely, staring intently at the young man, "and you need to find that part of you." A pause, "Only you can find it, Richard, you forge your own destiny, even if challenges cross your path, divinely inspired or not, you _always_ have a choice; so ask yourself, do you wish to retire, give up the life you lead to settle down, blend into the civilian life, or will you punish your body and soul more, throwing yourself into danger, risk your life for others?"

Richard entertained the thought of civilian life for only one heartbeat; that life was impossible for the young man. Flying through rooftops, leaping from buildings was in his blood, part of who he was, and he could not,_ would not_ give that up, "No… I'm not giving up this life, giving up who I am. I want to do this, not for revenge, or for duty, but because… because this part of me. I _want_ to help others; I _want_ to protect the weak, my friends. I think… I think Bruce dismissed me in an attempt to turn me away from this path, a path he blames himself for putting me on." His jaw became firm, his face determined, and Clark saw, for a moment, the man Richard would one day become, "This is who I am; I won't give it up."

"Good." Clark said simply, "You make an old man happy to hear those words. Don't sell yourself short, Richard, you're what the world, what the League needs. I'm waiting for the day that we may fight side by side again." Clark fell silent as Richard smothered his embarrassment, overcome by the Kryptonian's words; it was a few long minutes before Clark spoke again, his voice almost playful, but curious, his eyes twinkling, "So… did you ever tell her?"

Richard flinched, having hoped Clark had missed that part, the young man having spoken his mind without editing his words; seeing the older man leaning forward, obviously not allowing the topic to drop, Richard sighed, muttering, "No… I couldn't." he hurried on as he watched Clark about to respond, "It's not that I didn't want to, but... it would have been unfair, cruel to say... things... to her when I don't even know myself anymore; I need to find that missing part of who I am, become complete, before I can concentrate on others, or lead a team again."

Clark laughed, his voice warm, sighing into the air, "Ahhh, young love!" and ignored the dirty looks Richard was throwing at him. A few more minutes of silence passed, allowing Richard to dissolve his embarrassment yet again, Clark grinning the entire time, before the older man spoke, suddenly, and, apparently, randomly, "The Kryptonians have a story, one passed down from generation to generation, one I heard only recently as I continue to investigate my father's crystals. It originated many eons ago, when my planet was overthrown by a cruel dictator, a man driven mad by his hunger for power; for long years the people were oppressed and subjugated by this tyrant and his followers." He paused, noticing Richard listening curiously, obviously wondering where this trail of breadcrumbs lead. "However, tyranny never breeds obedience, only defiance, and one man defied the dictator; against overwhelming odds and great peril, this sole rebel stood against the overlord, fighting to protect the weak and downtrodden." Another pause, Clark's eyes catching Richards, "He was like you, Richard; an ordinary man who had a boundless will and limitless determination, who fought because he could make a difference, because he wanted to help, because he _loved_ his fellow man."

Richard nodded slowly, the hairs on his arms standing up, the feeling of something important about to happen, a beginning after the end, and he asked, "What… what did they call him?"

Clark grinned, "Nightwing."

_~Fin~_

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Author Notes: I have pondered a sequel to the story, but do not have anything planned as of yet. I think it would be fun to explore Richard's evolution into Nightwing, through these circumstances I put him through, and do already have a vague plot for it, but I'm still on the fence. Maybe if there is more appreciation of this story, it will prompt me into a second.


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